One chance meeting
by LovelyWarblerette
Summary: All it took was one chance meeting for Rachel and Nick to form a tight bond of friendship. But can this friendship turn to more, to love! Season 2 Episode 12 onwards, only slight changes to the happenings of the show, I try to stay as close to the original as possible, because it's brilliant as it is!
1. Chapter 1

**Why hello there!**

**Welcome to this fanfiction! I've been working on this for almost a year now (not this chapter, the whole story, duh!), and I finally brought myself to upload it on here.  
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**I don't know really when it started, but I ship Rachel and Warbler Nick, like, SO hard, you don't really want to know! This is why I started writing this, and voila, something dear and near to my heart was born! No really, I consider this story my baby, and I hold it very tightly in my little heart!  
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**Anyways, I hope you enjoy reading this, and if you feel up to it, leave a comment. You don't have to, though, it would just be really awesome of you, and hey, maybe I'll send over some virtual cookies as a way of saying thank you!  
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Chapter 1- Conversations between strangers

Rachel sighed. Having heard Kurt and his new choir friends from Dalton sing the love song for Breadstix was making her realize that yup, she was alone. Sure, she had been broken up with Finn for almost three months now, but she hadn't realized it really until now. Finn and her just weren't meant to work out as a romantic couple. As duet partners, yes, he did have a great voice, even if he didn't reach the high f all the time, and everyone knew she was brilliant vocally, as well as in everything else she began to do. Everything, except for relationships. She sucked at those. It had never worked out so far. Not with Noah, not with Jesse (okay, it wasn't her fault he backstabbed her because his choir director wanted to get close to her daughter, only to let her fall as soon as she found something better) and least of all with Finn. It hadn't worked out twice. _Twice!_ That was saying something.

Rachel looked around. The restaurant was almost vacant. Mercedes, Tina and Mike had already left, taking a ride together because they didn't live too far apart from each other. Kurt had been brought home by Blaine, who had to go in that direction anyway, at least so he said. Rachel rather thought the shorter boy wanted to take Kurt home because he liked the fashionista. Even Noah had left with his 'date', Lauren. Rachel didn't like the bigger girl, not for her appearance, but because she made Noah behave even worse than normal.

Here and there sat a few love struck couples, both teenagers and adults. She saw two boys from Kurt's school, each holding hands with their respective girlfriend. Great, even these boarding school boys were able to get girlfriends. Why did no one want to go out with her? Was she really too demanding and obnoxious like Santana had said? At least she had her vegan sundae all for herself.

The girl turned back around from where she had watched a young couple holding hands (no, she was not desperate!) to the large glass of ice cream to see the bench across from her in the booth was occupied. A boy sat in front of her, his chin propped up on his hands, his elbows resting on the table. Rachel looked at the boy dumbstruck. She had seen him somewhere before. She looked further down from his face and noticed the blue and red school uniform the boy was clad in. A Warbler.

"Hey" he said cheery and took a bite from his chocolate brownie that was on a plate in front of him. Rachel looked at him curiously. What was he doing? Was she in some kind of TV show, like punk'd but with normal people?

"Hey?" she answered timidly. Was he a psycho, looking for his next victim? Maybe the uniform was just a disguise…

"What are you doing here, all alone? I saw you earlier during the performance, but you were with others here. Did they forget you, too?" he asked, as if it was totally normal to just come up and talk to strangers. Still, his happy and enthusiastic way made Rachel smile a little.

"Forgotten? No, I've got my own car, so I can leave whenever I want" she said, kind of to make sure she was able to flee in case he really was a psycho. But what he said made her curious. "Who else has been forgotten?" The boy grinned sheepishly.

"Me. My best friend forgot to take me with him. Now I have to wait for Wes and David to go home. But it looks like it'll be sometime till I hit the pillows today…" he said and shrugged his shoulders, eating another bite from his brownie. Rachel frowned.

"How can your best friend forget you?" she asked. Who would do that? Would people do that to her? Immediately names popped up in her mind: Santana, Quinn, probably Mercedes…

"Well, he didn't do it on purpose, but Jeff had had his fourth espresso shot before the performance and with that much caffeine, he not only gets super active, but also tends to forget things. Like his best friend" the boy explained. Rachel looked at him compassionately.

"I'm sorry you have to wait now. It's pretty boring I guess. You don't have to sit with me, if you don't want to, you know, I'm fine on my own" she said. I'm used to it, she thought to herself. The boy only grinned.

"I don't mind. After all, it was me who came up to you, not the other way around. Do you want some?" he asked and pointed at the brownie, effectively changing the conversation. Rachel looked at the cake. It looked really good, but most pastry contained dairy or eggs, so it was not possible for her, as a vegan, to eat it.

"I have to warn you, though, it's vegan. Some people don't like it" the boy said as an afterthought and Rachel looked up from the cake and up at him.

"You're a vegan?" she asked, taking a small bit of the brownie, now, that she knew it was okay for her to eat.

"Not really, no. I mean, I do eat meat, but I'm allergic to both dairy products and egg, so it's easier to cook and eat vegan. But it's kinda cool to have such allergies. I never have to wait in line for food during lunch, because I have my own cook" he said and chuckled at his thought. This boy was a very strange character.

"I guess it's hard to have to be vegan even if you don't want to be. I'm vegan, you know" she said and popped another piece of cake in her mouth. Why was she taking food from strangers again? Did she want to get killed? Rachel dropped the last remains of cake on the table and looked at the boy.

"That cake is not poisoned or something, is it? Are you just talking to me because you want to drug and mug me? I know a lot of self defense, I have you know!" She burst out, but the boy only laughed.

"Why would I do that? Besides, I ate from the brownie, too, so I'd poison myself as well, which would be a pretty dumb thing to do. Really, you have a lot of fantasy in your little head" he said and laughed some more. Now it was her turn to look sheepishly.

"Yeah, well, going to school at McKinley for two and a half years makes you a little weary around other people. Not everyone is nice, like at your school. I guess it's a dream compared to McKinley" she said and shrugged, taking another bite from the brownie.

"Kurt told a little bit about what went on in his old school. So you were on the receiving end as well?" the boy across from her asked, but Rachel only scoffed, which was very unlike her.

"Was? Everyone in Glee club is tormented all the time. But it got better since some of the footballers joined forces. It took us some time, though. But let me tell you, getting slushie in your face is nothing you want to desire!" Rachel chuckled at that. It was just laughable that stuff like that was going on at their school, but no one did something against it.

"Slushie facials?! Don't the teachers know about that?" the boy asked incredulous. Rachel sighed. Of course the teachers knew, heck, Coach Sylvester had thrown them before herself!

"They know about it, trust me. Our principal likes to admonish us through the intercom, because of the stains on the hall floors, but no one really does something against it. It's just common knowledge that the losers in school are treated like that. It's our school's hierarchy, not that I like it or anything" she said and shrugged. There was nothing really they could do, as long as the teachers didn't react, no one would change their ways.

"Man, I don't know if I could be so cool about all this. So are all the 'losers' affected by this?" the boy asked. Rachel shook her head.

"No, the geeks and nerds and AV club kids are completely fine in our school. It's just us, the Glee club."

"So you're in Glee club?" Rachel smiled. Her being the star of New Directions was her favorite subject to talk about.

"Yes, I'm the co-captain! Without me, there wouldn't even be a glee club, because I'm the glue that keeps everyone together. There have been so many problems in our club, there just needs to be someone, who you can count on. And that's me" she explained and the Warbler looked surprised.

"You're captain? I thought the girl that sang the solo at Sectionals was" he asked and Rachel's eyes widened. Santana? Captain? Over her dead body!

"What? No, that was Santana. She's not captain, our director just thought it would be wise to have others sing lead. Which was totally a bad idea, because see what it brought us! A tie with this a capella group. Really, we were so much better, don't you thi…" she began to ramble, but when she remembered that she sat in front of a member of 'that a capella group' she blushed a deep red.

"I- gosh, I just landed right in it, didn't I? I didn't want to make you feel bad, I'm just disappointed we didn't win. I… I'm going to close my mouth now!" she said and hid her face in her hands. The boy across from her began to laugh loudly.

"It's okay, really. You don't want to know what we say about you when Kurt's not around. He would rip our heads off. You know, we might just be an a capella group from an all-boys boarding school, but there's gossip I don't even want to talk about!" he said and Rachel came back from behind her hands.

"I didn't want to say you were bad, really, because you are brilliant in what you do. It's just different from the others… Your performance earlier was really good, by the way. But maybe Blaine shouldn't have pointed at Santana at that one point about not finding love at all. I think she had a rough week and I might or might not be part of the cause of it. I said some pretty mean things to her" Rachel admitted.

"Really? I can't imagine you talking back. What did you say to her?" her opposite asked curiously.

"Well, I might have told her that her only chances in life to be successful would be while working at a pole…" Rachel said and hid behind her hands again.

"What?! You said something like that? Oh my God, that's really harsh!" the boy exclaimed and Rachel leaned her head against the table, but not before pushing away the now forgotten and molten sundae.

"I know… I regretted it the minute I said it. My dads would kill me if they ever found out. I don't think Santana will ever speak to me again. Not that we spoke much before, because we both don't really like each other, but I don't want to have that on my consciousness" she sighed and hit her head against the table again in frustration.

"Well maybe you should just apologize. Even if she does not accept it, at least you have tried it. And dads? In plural?" he asked. Rachel looked up and rested her head on her hand.

"Yeah, I was adopted. I have two gay fathers. I really love them. They're the best. What about you? Any siblings?" she asked. The boy nodded.

"Yes, two sisters, one's seven, the other fifteen. My younger sister attends Dalton's sister school, she's a freshman there. My other sister lives at home with my parents in Akron. Sadly I don't get to see her much, because I can't go home every weekend, only every other. Warbler practice is really demanding and school is, as well" he explained and Rachel nodded. She could imagine how it would feel not to be able to see her family all the time. She wouldn't be able to live like that.

"I wish I had a brother or sister. My dads are great, but sometimes it's a little lonely" she said, sighing.

"Well, living at Dalton has at least one upside: You're never lonely. I mean, there are always people around. Jeff lives with me in a room, Wes and David on one side, and Blaine on the other. He is really lucky to have a room on his own. Sometimes you just need your space" the Warbler said. Rachel was confused by the last statement.

"Blaine? Kurt told me he's from Westerville. Why is he boarding if he lives so close? Akron I can understand, but the same town?" she questioned. The boy opposite her sighed.

"Well, Blaine lives with us mostly because he wants to flee from his family. You know, his dad's not too happy about him being gay. Blaine says there are fights almost all the time when he's home. But it's better like this, I think. We can practice all the time we want" he said and laughed at his last comment. In that moment a cell phone began to ring.

"Wait a minute, that's mine" he said and got out the device. Flipping it open he held it to his ear, a frown on his face.

"What the hell, dude? Did you forget something, huh? Your best friend, maybe?" he almost shouted. The boy was quiet while he listened to the person on the other end.

"No, Jeff, it's not cool. You freaking forgot me! I was sitting right next to you, man! Now I have to wait for Wes and David to stop making out with their girlfriends before I can get home…No I don't know how long it'll take…Wait a minute" the boy turned around in his seat and shouted across the room, making other people jump.

"Yo, Wes! When do you think you'll be done over there?" he asked and the two couples sitting next to each other broke apart with a start.

"What are you still doing here, man? Weren't you supposed to drive with Jeff?" the Asian boy asked, obviously not happy about being disturbed.

"Yes, but he forgot me. Again" he added as an afterthought in the direction of his phone. The asian boy sighed.

"Well, I don't know how long it'll take… An hour… two?" he said and turned back to his girlfriend. The Warbler held the phone back to his ear.

"You heard it man. Either you come back and get me, or I'm going to stay here overnight. I'm tired and am not looking forward to watching Wes and David kissing their girlfriends two more hours" he exclaimed. He listened to his friend on the other end, but what he heard obviously didn't suit him.

"What, man? You're honestly going to keep me hanging here? You're such an ass, really. Don't talk to me when I come home… if I come home at all. And keep your hands of both my redvines and the xbox!" he exclaimed and closed his phone shut.

"I'm sorry about that, I know it's rude to take phone calls during conversations, but I just had to tell him what an idiot he is. He just told me to have fun watching those two" he said and pointed behind him, supposedly at the couples. Rachel smiled. She could understand how he felt. Friends were mean sometimes.

"Really, it's okay. Sometimes you just need to state your opinion" she said and the boy grinned. He glanced at his watch and sighed.

"Well, it seems like I won't have much sleep tonight. It's already nine. Really, you don't have to sit with me here. Your dads will worry if you're not home soon" he said. It was nice of him to be so considerate, but not necessary. But he was right. She was supposed to be home at ten latest.

"Maybe you're right… My dads worry very easily" Rachel said and made to grab her wallet, but the boy held up his hand to stop her.

"No, it's okay, I got it. My mother would kill me if she knew that I sat with a girl and didn't pay. Drive careful, then, okay?" he said and leaned back further in his seat. Rachel smiled at the boy. He really was nice. Very different from all the other boys she had met before.

"That's very nice of you. And I will drive carefully, don't worry. Don't bore yourself too much waiting!" she said. She slipped on her coat and grabbed her purse, waved at the boy in good bye and made her way out of the restaurant. Rachel had just reached her car when she began to feel guilty. Here she was, able to go home and to bed in less than fifteen minutes, and there was he, waiting on his own to get home, when ever that would be.

'No, I cannot do that!' she said to herself and turned to walk back into the establishment. When she arrived at their table, the boy had his eyes closed, probably trying to get some sleep before going home.

"You know, I have to be at home at ten. It's now a little past nine. To go to Westerville and back will cost forty minutes. Grab your coat, I'm going to give you a ride home!" she announced and the boy opened his eyes with a start.

"Wh-what?" he asked, dumbfounded. Rachel rolled her eyes, as was her way.

"You heard me. I can't possibly let you stay here for who knows how long, while I sit in my very cozy room and am able to go to bed. So I'll drive you home. It's not a big deal, you paid the food!" she repeated herself and held out the coat that was draped over the back of the booth to him. "Come on, up!" The boy didn't really know what to do, but grabbed the jacket and put it on.

"Thanks, I guess?" he said as they walked out of the restaurant, He threw his friends some words in parting, so they knew they didn't have to worry about him.

On the way to Westerville, they kept talking like they had at Breadstix. It was flowing, as if they had known each other for many years and not only a little more than an hour. Way sooner than they thought, the boy gave directions on how to reach his school and home. In front of the large building, Rachel stopped and let him depart. Before closing the door, he turned back to look at her.

"It was very nice to meet you!" he said. Rachel smiled. Yes, he was right, it had been very nice.

"The pleasure was all mine. It made my evening turn out very well" she retorted and the boy gave her a thousand watts smile that could compete against her own.

"Maybe we'll see each other again, yeah? Regionals at the latest! I'll look out for you and your solo!" he said. He was just about to close the car's door, when he turned around again.

"Oh, yeah, I completely forgot. I'm Nick" he said and closed the door, leaving towards the large building.

On her way home Rachel thought about what he had said. It really would be nice to meet him again. He was just different from all the other boys. In a good way. He was… Nick.

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**I really hope you liked this! I'm sorry if there are any mistakes I made, I'm not a native speaker and also only human! =)  
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**When I am going to update?! I don't know yet! I won't be one of those people who only update when they have reached a certain amount of reviews, but I can also say I won't update the next chapter tomorrow... Just look out for it, alert or favorite me and my baby and you will be up to date on what is going on! Or follow me on tumblr, link is on my profile, because I'll post stuff about this story there as well.  
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**Wow, I feel like Curt Mega, rambling and talking your ear off!  
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**Love ya!  
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	2. Chapter 2

**Hello again! I'm back!  
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**First off, thank you so much for reading, reviewing, alerting and favoriting this story! You are all way too kind to me! Keep up the good work, it really makes my day to see other people liking what I wrote!  
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**This next chapter is from Nick's point of view. This is actually how it will continue, one chapter from Rachel's POV, the next from Nick's.  
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**Anyway, I don't want to ramble any longer, I tend to do that, so!  
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**happy reading everyone!  
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Chapter 2- Name?!

Why didn't he wait for her to tell her name? Why did he just close the door and walk away? Now he had to keep thinking about how she could be called. Great Nick, smooth move!

The boy walked in through the large double doors of his dorm. The halls were already quieted down, not many boys ran around, like during the day. Nick made his way to his dorm room without being interrupted by any of his classmates. The nearer he came to his room, though, the more he could hear laughter and voices from it. Was there a party going on? Did Jeff invite all of their friends over, again? Nick was already tired, he really didn't need a whole room full of loud and annoying guys anymore. The next day would be no problem, but not tonight. Carefully he opened the door and was greeted by a crowd of boys, sitting around the TV and playing a video game.

"Jeff, I told you to stay away from my xbox after the stunt you pulled, man!" Nick exclaimed and the boys turned around to look at the newcomer.

"Nicky, did Wes and David quit earlier or did you beam here?" Jeff, the tall blond boy Nick was rooming with, asked his friend and came over to him to clap him on the back affectionately. You could notice that the boy still had a huge amount of caffeine in his system. It would be a long night after all.

"No, they didn't. Someone was so kind and gave me a ride home. What you actually should have done, as my best friend. Thanks again for forgetting me, dude!" Nick said and fell down on his bed. He was tired. It had been a long day for him, there had been so much school work that they had been given to work on over the short holiday.

"Nick, weren't you told that you are not allowed to take rides with strangers? Who knows what could have happened!" Thad said who sat on the floor near Nick's bed and read a book.

"It was no stranger… Guys, is this party going to continue for much longer? I don't know what you did, but I had one hell of a day with the stuff Mr. Larson gave us as homework for the free day" Nick shouted over the ruckus the boys made and tried to get their attention.

"Nick, don't be a party pooper, it's only 9.30pm! (Actually, it was almost ten, and there was school the next day!) Come on, have fun!" Jeff said and whacked the dark haired boy on the back again, to try and get him up.

"Jeff, I'm not a party pooper. I would have joined in, hadn't you forgotten me!" he said and swatted away the boy's arm. Jeff sighed and turned to the crowd in front of the TV screen.

"Guys, you heard the boss. You can take the game with you, if you want. This room is closed down now, so grandpa here can have his peace and quiet!" he said and the boys around the room sighed. The promise of being able to continue the game in some other room was the only thing to have them leave.

"There, you happy now?" Jeff asked and sat down on his own bed across the room, opening up his laptop and starting to browse.

"No…" Nick said, his face pressed into his pillow. He still couldn't believe he hadn't waited for the girl to say her name. Why had he been so stupid? Why was he always so stupid with the most normal things when a nice girl was involved?

"Nick, what's up? You're not still pissed at me because I forgot you, are you? You know I'm sorry, but there's nothing to change this now. Do I have to kneel in front of you and beg for forgiveness?" the blonde boy asked, the fun from his voice vanished. Jeff was able to see if Nick didn't feel alright, and this was one of these moments.

"Nothing… it's nothing. I'm stupid" Nick tried to get the subject out of the way, but Jeff wouldn't budge.

"Nicholas! I know there's something wrong with you or you wouldn't mope around like this! Tell me!" Jeff exclaimed. Nick rolled onto his side and faced the blond friend.

"I'm stupid. As always" Nick stated, his voice void of any emotion. He was just stating a well known fact. Jeff sighed and walked over to sit next to his best friend.

"I don't believe you. You're always very smart" he said and grinned, trying to coax out a smile from his friend. He didn't succeed.

"Today I wasn't. God, I'm such a moron. I didn't even ask for her name!" Nick exclaimed and rolled back on his stomach to bury his head in the pillows. Jeff grinned in success. So it was about a girl.

"You met someone? Someone nice?" he pried and saw Nick nodding. "Who was she? What's her name?" he asked, having forgotten the last statement his friend had made.

"That's the problem. I don't know her name. We met at Breadstix. You had left and Wes and David were making out with their girlfriends. I was bored to death, because I was _alone_" he explained, not leaving out the fact that his friend had left without him, "and there she was, sitting alone in a booth. I walked over to her and we started talking. She's really nice and funny. And then she gave me a ride home. Before I left I told her my name, but was too stupid to ask for hers. And now I'm sitting here and I'm probably never going to see her again. I'm just horrible with girls!" Jeff smiled. Nick always reacted in pushing himself down the ladder when he found a girl he liked.

"Well, do you know why she was at Breadstix? Was she invited?" the blond Warbler asked. A girl wouldn't just go to a restaurant on Valentine's Day without a reason.

"Yes, she was. She said she's a friend of Kurt's. She's in his old Glee club" Nick mumbled, not seeing the solution to his problem. Jeff began to laugh at how blind the other boy was. Was he in so deep already?

"Man, that's, like, the easiest problem to solve now! I mean, all you have to do is walk out of this room and over to Blaine's and then you ask our little love bird, what her name is. He said he had already met some of Kurt's friends, I'm sure she was one of them. And if he doesn't know, wait for tomorrow and ask Kurt himself. You're so pathetic sometimes, it's almost sweet!" Jeff exclaimed. Nick looked up from his pillows. He hadn't thought about that! In a heartbeat, he was out of bed and in the hallway, hammering away on Blaine's room's door. When he didn't hear someone coming to open it, he started hammering on it again, as if he was trying to break down the wood. With a rush the door was pulled open and a very tired looking Blaine looked at them, his eyes only open a little bit.

"Dude, where's the fire" the shorter boy said, his voice thick with sleep. He had obviously been to dreamland already. "You're not going to sleep in my room only because Jeff is too active for his own good with of all the coffee he drank!"

"No! I don't want to sleep in your room. You talk in your sleep, it's worse than having Jeff around!" Nick said and heard on 'oy!' from his room, but didn't react to it. "Do you know the name of one of Kurt's friends?" Blaine looked at the dark haired boy curiously.

"Well, I've met some, yes… Why do you want to know?" he inquired, yawning widely and rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand.

"Doesn't matter! Do you know the name of the really short one with the dark hair? She said she's captain of Kurt's old choir" he asked further and Blaine's brows furrowed in thought.

"I… we had coffee together a few weeks ago… Kurt told me what her name was… it's… it's… Sorry, I can't remember, it's something with an R. I'm still sleeping, if you didn't notice already! Why don't you wait for tomorrow and ask Kurt himself? What time is it anyway? Do you know the concept of sleep?" Blaine asked and made to close the door.

"I'm going back there now, so don't come back for any other information, okay? If you want to know something, ask now…" the Warbler's lead said and yawned widely again.

"No, it's okay… I just wanted to know. I'll ask Kurt, then. Good night, Blaine" Nick said and turned to leave for his room. He was almost there when he heard his name being called. The boy turned back from where he had come from. Blaine still stood in the doorway.

"Don't worry, Nick. From what I know about her, she's very intense, but really nice to people she likes. Don't think too much about everything you do, just let it work itself out, okay?" he said and smiled his trademark toothpaste advert smile.

"Thanks, Blaine. I think I needed that" Nick said and walked into his room. He really had needed that. Blaine knew the girl a bit, he could reassure him that she was someone special. Jeff sat on his bed and looked up when the other boy came back inside.

"So? Did he know the name?" he urged to know, but Nick shook his head.

"No, he didn't. He only knew it started with an R. I'm going to have to wait for tomorrow to ask Kurt" he retorted and went over to his bed, loosening the tie and shedding the blazer.

"It's going to turn out epic, I promise. And until you know the name, you can make up some and call her funny nick names. That's almost better than knowing the actual name, isn't it?" Jeff joked. Only Jeff would find joy in such childish things as coming up with nick names.

"Maybe you're right. Maybe I just shouldn't think too much about it all. I'm going to wait for tomorrow and ask Kurt for her name. I just want to know who I had such an awesome conversation with" Nick said and started changing into his night clothes. Jeff grinned. The dark haired Warbler had hit it hard!

"Did you really have such a good time with bunny nose?" he asked and lay down in his bed. Nick turned to look at his best friend from across the room and smiled, the first time since arriving home.

"You have no idea! And seriously? Bunny nose?" he said and turned off the bedside lamp, hearing the boy across the room chuckle. He had already come up with a pet name for 'his' girl.

…

The next morning began in a rush with Jude, one of Nick and Jeff's best friends, bursting into the boys' room.

"Guys, it's almost 7.30! You need to get up or you won't be in time for first period!" he exclaimed and went to throw away both their blankets. Nick woke with a start, jumping out of bed and trying to put on his shirt and pants at the same time. Jeff however continued to be in dreamland, not caring about the trouble he would land himself in if he didn't get up soon.

"Jeff! You need to get up! You have French first period! Mme Leblanc will kill you if you are tardy again!" Nick exclaimed and shook his friend awake.

"Whaa…" the blond groaned, but a glance at his alarm clock let him fly out of the bed and into his clothes in record speed.

"I'm going to be killed. So killed. Mme Leblanc said she'd take me to the headmaster if I'm late again. Nick, do you know what happens if I go there? My parents are going to cut my free time, meaning I won't be able to be a Warbler anymore. Where is my tie?" he shouted, looking in the stupidest places for his piece of clothing. He found it in the lamp shade. With another exclamation of being late Jeff rushed out of the dorm room and down the corridor, not stopping at their dining room to at least take something to eat for the way with him.

Nick shook his head, continuing to get dressed. Jeff always had his head in the clouds. He on the other hand had always been thorough with his school work. He wasn't late for class, like, ever, so it wouldn't be his death sentence to not be on time this day. Of course it wouldn't be ideal, but nothing too bad. Also, he had history as first period, so it wouldn't really matter anyway. Mr. Morton was almost 70 years old, his classes were boring and perfect to catch up on some lack of sleep He wouldn't even notice if Nick hurried into the room a little late. But the boy didn't want to take any chances. His tie in his pocket, he walked down the already empty stairs to the dining area. Pouring himself a glass of orange juice he sat down at one of the tables and grabbed an apple to eat on the way.

For the boy it was always important to have this moment of sitting down before heading to the hassle that were classes. It calmed his mind from anything else and let him concentrate on what lay ahead.

"Good morning Nick! Did you sleep well?" a voice said from behind him and the boy turned to see Audrey, their 'house mom'. Audrey was in her forties, working as a kind of housekeeper, but only for their dorm house. She was the good spirit of dormitory II.

Dalton Academy's dormitory was divided into four houses. Every house had its own common and dining room with adjoining kitchen. To keep the peace the school had employed a housekeeper for each house who lived with the boys in the house. She was there to act as a mom, in some ways, keeping the boys from fighting and doing stupid things, as well as being an open ear for each and every problem or sorrow.

"Good morning Audrey. I slept fine, thank you, even though there was some trouble yesterday" Nick said and smiled at the woman. He liked Audrey, mostly because she reminded him of his own mother. It was nice to have an adult around sometimes.

"Trouble? What happened? Did you fight with someone?" the older woman asked, concern in her voice. She never liked when her boys had fights with each other. They were a lovely bunch and acted as the children she didn't have.

"No, I didn't fight. After our performance yesterday, Jeff forgot me at the restaurant. He had a bit too much caffeine in him, making him hyper active, as always. I had to stay there longer" he explained. At the mention of the restaurant however, something came back to his mind. The girl! Nick bolted up.

"I'm sorry, Audrey, but I completely forgot something. I catch up with you later, okay? I'm going to be late!" he exclaimed and rushed out of the room, leaving a confused woman behind. How could he have forgotten it? He had worried half of the night about not getting to know the name of his stranger. He hadn't been able to fall asleep for long after the light had been turned out, and now? He had forgotten about it? He was such an idiot!

Nick ran towards the classroom he would have history in. Kurt would be there as well, as they had an almost identical schedule. The boy burst into the room just before the bell chimed and plopped down on a chair next to the fashionista.

"Good morning, Nick. A little late, no?" Kurt said in greeting, not looking at the still a little disheveled appearance of his opposite, but at the magazine in front of him on the desk.

"I need a name" Nick exclaimed, not bothering to answer Kurt's question.

"Barbara, Patti, which one do you want? You can choose" Kurt retorted, but didn't notice Nick rolling his eyes at him.

"No! I need a name of someone you know. A friend of yours" the boy said. Kurt turned to him, now curious.

"What friend? Why do you need to know?" he asked, chuckling at the way Nick looked, all desperate, like a dog begging for water.

"It doesn't matter. She said she was your old glee club's captain" the boy said and Kurt raised his eyebrows. What did Nick want with Rachel's name?

"Rachel? What's with her?" he inquired, his curiosity peaking higher and higher. Was he missing out on gossip? But Nick didn't answer the thoroughly styled boy. He had found out her name. Rachel. Her name was Rachel. The boy began to smile widely, not noticing that Kurt looked at him, a knowing look on his face.

"Listen here, I don't know how you two know each other, but let me tell you something. If you so much as hurt her, yeah, I'll make your life hell. Rachel Berry is one of my best friends from McKinley. She's been through so much trouble already, she doesn't need someone else leaving her hanging. I know that look on your face, Nick, my brother wore it countless times, and still Rachel was the one to suffer in their relationship, because my brother is an idiot. Don't even try to do something to her!" he raged, but Nick only nodded. He had found out her name.

"Oh, and Nick, put on your tie, you look ridiculous!" Kurt exclaimed, finally realizing that the boy's appearance was less than acceptable. Nick hastily did as he was told, running his hands through his hair to tame it at least a little and make it look okay for class, but the smile on his lips never left. He knew her name!

The boy whipped his phone out of his bag and composed a short text to Jeff about his success in finding out the name of his stranger girl.

_It's RACHEL! I know her NAME! –N_

If he knew his friend even a little bit, the news about him being interested in a girl named Rachel would spread through his group of friends like a run fire. But Nick didn't care. He knew the name and that was everything that mattered to him at that point of time. He didn't even worry about knowing close to nothing about the girl and not having any possibility to get in contact with her. He at least knew her name. And it was a really nice one, at that. Rachel…


	3. Chapter 3

_**You can not imagine how sorry I am for leaving you without an update for suuuch a long time! Really, I am awfully sorry for this. But there is an explanation as to why I had to leave you waiting: I just started college and moved into a dorm. And in this dorm, there was no internet! So I had to make a contract with a company for me to have internet, and it just TODAY started working. Basically, I didn't have any way of updating for five weeks, hence the long wait! **_

_**But now I am back and I hope you all like this new chapter! Feel free to leave a comment! I love hearing from you!**_

_**To all the people who did comment, alerted and favorited this chapter and me as well: Thank you from the bottom of my heart. You make my life, seriously, knowing that some people other than me care about this story makes me incredibly happy!**_

_**Just a quick reminder, I do not own Glee or any of the characters mentioned... I wish I would though, but I don't...  
**_

_**Without further ado, here is the new chapter!**_

Chapter 3-Surprise!

Rachel had spent the whole morning berating herself for being stupid. She just drove off. She didn't stop and tell him her name. She was always very keen on having everyone know her name, in case they had influence in New York. But this time, when it actually mattered, she just drove off.

Her evening with Nick had been so nice. It really had felt as if they had known each other for a long time, the conversation going easily. But now Rachel sat here, thinking about what else could have happened. They could have exchanged phone numbers, to maybe repeat the previous evening. She had enjoyed the time with the dark haired Warbler. He had helped her see some things she wasn't able to, before. Like, apologizing to Santana. Which she would do as soon as there was an opportunity. Nick had a really good influence on her social behavior. And she'd like to continue seeing him.

Sure, she hadn't forgotten the words of Mercedes. Rachel shouldn't be in a relationship just now. And she didn't want to be, even though Nick was what she would call a dream boy, nice, funny and considerate. But she had just put the whole ordeal with Finn behind herself. She needed some free time of boyfriend trouble. Rachel didn't want to be in a relationship with the boy from Kurt's school, at least not at that point of time, she'd just like to have that kind of friendship, carefree and lose of any obligations. Maybe some time later, there could be more between them, depending on how the boy felt. For now, she just wanted a close friend. Someone outside all the trouble that was New Directions.

Concentrating on her classes was difficult for her on that day. Her thoughts always led her back to how stupid it was of her to just drive away. Surely Nick was all barmy with not knowing who he had spent a very nice evening conversing. She felt guilty for him probably not finding any peace and not being able to fall asleep because of his thoughts involving her.

Okay, now, Rachel, you're acting as if he was your match made from heaven, who you won't be able to live without anymore. You don't know anything about him. Maybe he was glad he got rid of you. Maybe he had a great laugh with his friends about 'that girl from the restaurant' and forgot all about you, a voice in her head admonished. Great, now even her brain was plotting against her.

She couldn't imagine Nick laughing at her for being the naïve girl that she undoubtedly was. It didn't seem like him, at least not from what she had noticed the night before. They had been getting along really well, that couldn't have been all acted. She'd know, she was trained in acting almost all day long. How else should she make everyone believe the slushie attacks didn't bother her? She really was an amazing actress, without ever having had any professional training.

"Rachel, where are you with your thoughts today? It is third period and you've barely involved yourself in any of the discussions from class! Are you not feeling well?" Mercedes asked the shorter girl from where she sat next to her. Rachel startled out of her thoughts, but didn't let her uncomfortableness with the situation she was in show. She smiled at her dark skinned friend reassuringly, a smile which she had perfected to the limit to keep her dads from worrying.

"I'm fine, Mercedes, don't worry. I'm just a little short on sleep today" she explained. Mercedes peaked up on that, her curiosity getting the best of her.

"Tired, huh? When did you come home yesterday? You were still there when Tina, Mike and I left and that was around eight. What were you doing?" she inquired, eager to hear the newest gossip. Not to spread it, but because she was really interested. Mercedes had learned to like the ways of one Rachel Berry.

"I was home at around ten. I met one of Kurt's new choir friends and we talked really nicely. I ended up giving him a ride home because his best friend left without him. And then I began being a total fool" Rachel told her friend and Mercedes' brows furrowed at the diva's last statement.

"Rachel, you are talking about yourself here, right? How could you make a fool out of yourself? And a boy? Really? Rach, did you forget what conversation we had with Kurt only a few days ago?" Mercedes asked in a low voice so as to not arouse attention from the teacher lecturing the rest of the students about some kind of grammar structure mostly used in 18th century romantic poems.

"It's not like that, I promise. We just got along really well and I'd like to continue the conversation we held. But it's probably never going to happen, because I just drove off, completely forgetting to tell him my name. He told me his was Nick and then I just left! Really, how stupid can I be?" Rachel began to berate herself again, but her friend hushed her.

"Don't worry so much, Rach! If he's a friend of Kurt's, don't you think there are next to no problems to let him get to know your name? I'm sure he already questioned Kurt about you, if he thinks as highly of you as you think of him. But just don't stumble in some kind of relationship again, where you only end up hurt, okay? I don't want to see you like that" the girl said and squeezed her friend's hand. Rachel smiled at the kind words of wisdom.

She hadn't even thought about Kurt being in the picture. Of course there would be a way for Nick to find out her name. But that still didn't erase all the problems. From what she knew about Kurt, he was way too protective of his friends to ever give out phone numbers to anyone. So there still was no way of them contacting each other. Unless Rachel drove over to Westerville and visited the boarding school, but that would totally seem as if she was stalking the boy. Rachel sighed. It was such a dilemma…

When the school bell let them all out for lunch, Rachel looked out for the tall Latina. She really wanted to apologize for her horrid behavior. It hadn't been right to say what she had said, even though she had been troubled because of the whole ordeal with Finn. She spotted the girl at her locker. With purpose, she strode over and coughed slightly to get the other girl's attention. When Santana turned around to see who was bothering her, she narrowed her eyes at the sight of the short diva.

"What do you want, hobbit? Any more things you'd like to tell me about my future?" she bit out and made to leave, but Rachel held up her hand to stop her.

"Santana, I'd like to apologize. What I said was totally uncalled for and I'm ashamed I stooped that low. It was in no way okay for me to vent on you only because Finn and I had problems, even though you were part of the cause of them. I'm really, really sorry. I know you'll probably not accept this apology, but I at least wanted to try" she said and looked up at the other girl in earnest. Santana was slightly taken aback by the honest words. No one had ever cared to apologize to her, no matter what they had said or done. When she didn't respond at once, Rachel made to continue.

"Okay, I guess I'll take the silence as you not accepting my apology. That's fine, really, I just wanted to let you know that I'm truly sorry and I-"she said but Santana interrupted her.

"Listen here, dwarf, I'll accept your excuse to shut your trap, but don't think we'll be friends only because you opened up your faucet of mushy emotions on me, okay? I don't like you, and I probably never will, but I admit that you saying sorry raised you maybe a little bit higher in my book of people I hate. Don't worry though, you're still pretty much the last person on the list, so don't get too happy about me not terrorizing you anymore, because I'm most certain that I will. Now leave, or I'll have to get a slushie for me to throw it at you!" she said. Rachel looked at the taller girl dumbstruck, but nodded shortly when she understood the meaning of her words and hurried away.

Well, that went better than she would have thought. She didn't think Santana would even let her finish the little speech, but clearly she had been impressed, at least a little.

'Without Nick, I'd never have done that. I really feel good now' she thought to herself as she made her way over to the lunch room. Maybe she should visit Dalton Academy after school. She at least wanted to tell him that his advice had carried results. She felt almost 100% better about herself than before. Her acting like a fool was almost forgotten!

"Where have you been? One moment I was right in front of you in the hallway on our way here and the next you have vanished! Did something happen?" Mercedes pounced on her like a tiger as soon as Rachel sat down next to her friend in the cafeteria.

"I apologized to Santana for my horrid behavior towards her and what I said about her future the other day. I felt guilty about it, so I decided I would go and say sorry" she explained and made to unpack her lunch that she had taken with her from home, like she always did, because school food just didn't correspond with her diet. Mercedes gaped at her open-mouthed.

"You what? You apologized to _Santana? _Who are you and what have you done to my diva?" she exclaimed, not believing what she heard the smaller girl say. Rachel rolled her eyes at her friend's antics.

"Mercedes, it's no big deal. I just felt awful about myself and couldn't carry the guilt around with me anymore. So I went up to her and said I was sorry. She accepted and now I feel better. It was almost entirely for me to feel better, so it's not so different from what you say I act normally" she told, shooting the girl beside her a pointed glare. It wasn't too long ago that Mercedes had made her feel bad saying she was acting selfishly. The dark skinned girl smiled guiltily.

"It's just so sudden! But I'm glad you did. Maybe now there will be a little more peace and quiet in glee club. We could really need it! But what made you realize that you needed to say sorry. I'm sure it didn't come to you over night!" she inquired and Rachel shook her head. No, it didn't come over night, it came over conversation!

"Actually, I talked with Nick about it yesterday. I told him it was nice of them to go out into the audience during the performance and cheer them up and obviously they cheered up Santana, because I saw her talking with Sam afterwards. I realized then that I should apologize and Nick encouraged me to go for it" Rachel said and a gleam in Mercedes eyes made her think that she maybe shouldn't have said all that.

"So that Nick person has already an influence on you? You are moving really fast from not knowing each other to being really cozy. Just be careful it's not another Jesse, okay?" she reminded the shorter diva. Rachel rolled her eyes again.

"I'm not going to make the same mistakes again, trust me. Besides, Nick is totally different from any other boy I have met. He's honestly nice and forth coming, you'd like him. And I don't want a boyfriend, like I told you before, it'd be just nice to have a friend outside all the trouble that is New Directions."

…

Throughout the entire rest of the school day Rachel thought about driving up to Westerville. She really wanted to tell Nick about her success in apologizing to Santana. It felt as if the boy already was a friend of hers and she wanted to share things with him. Also she wanted to maybe get a shot at exchanging phone numbers to stay in contact. That's what friends did, right?!

The girl still hadn't made up her mind by the time the last period ended. There was no glee practice that day so she was able to head home right after school. She got in her car and drove out of the parking lot, unconsciously turning at crossings, not really noticing where she was going. She only noticed that she wasn't heading home when the signs changed and she found herself out of town going in the direction that in fact led to Westerville. It seemed like her subconscious had taken the turn in deciding what to do and was now leading her to Dalton Academy. Well, that decision was made.

When she arrived at the large campus of the boarding school, she saw the entrance gate standing wide open. She parked her car on the curb and hesitantly stepped onto school grounds. It was quiet, unlike from what she had thought it would be like in an all boys' school. Here and there she saw students coming to and fro, but there was less ruckus than what she was used to at her own school. Surely they were done for the day as well, right? It would be pretty bad if she burst right into class. But there didn't seem to be any lessons held anymore.

The next task was to find the dormitory Nick lived in. From what Kurt had told herself and Mercedes about his new school there were four dormitories on campus. She faintly remembered seeing Nick heading right after entering school grounds the day before. Right it was, then.

Rachel followed the neatly trimmed cobblestone pathways that led all around school, turning right towards one of the houses that should be a dormitory. Walking down the walkway, her eyes trained on the house in front of her, she didn't notice that her outfit, consisting of her trademark short skirts, sweater and knee high socks, were letting a lot of boys turn back and admire her nice physique.

Arriving at the front door of the house in question, she read the number II. From inside she could hear someone cleaning with a vacuum and music from the upper levels. So someone was at home who would be able to help her find her way around this place. She stepped up to the double doors and rang the bell. The vacuum stopped and Rachel could hear someone approaching the door. It opened and revealed a nice looking woman in her early forties.

"Oh, hello, can I help you?" the woman asked nicely and immediately Rachel felt herself liking the woman. She wore a warm smile on her face and looked interested at her. Rachel smiled back at the woman.

"Oh, yes, I hope you can. I'm on the look for someone. Nick? Do you know him? He's got brown hair, and he's a Warbler! He's a…" she thought for a second how to call him. "He's a friend of mine" she eventually decided. The woman smiled brighter and opened the door further to let Rachel in.

"Of course I know Nick. He lives in this dormitory. Come in, come in" she ushered the girl in and led her to a large and cozy common room to sit down on the couch. A few boys were in the room as well, looking at her curiously. It wasn't often that there were unknown girls in their dormitory. The woman smiled at Rachel when she sat down next to her.

"So, what's your name? I'll have one of the boys go and get Nick in a moment" she explained and Rachel nodded in understanding.

"My name is Rachel Berry" she said. At the name some boys looked up at her, shooting each other looks. One of them looked particularly intrigued.

"It's Bunny Nose! Jude! Jude, go and get Nicky!" he exclaimed and jumped up. The woman next to Rachel looked at the blond boy, her brows furrowed.

"Jeff, what are you talking about? Her name's Rachel, she just told me!" she admonished, but the boy shook his head, coming nearer and plopping down on the other side of Rachel.

"I know, Audrey, but it's Bunny Nose! Nick and she met yesterday, because he stayed at the restaurant longer. He was getting all insane with not knowing her name yesterday, so I decided to call her Bunny Nose!" he said and then turned to look at Rachel. He gave her a bright smile. "Hey, my name's Jeff!" he said and Rachel chuckled. She could imagine that boy forgetting things, or people in the case yesterday.

In that moment Rachel could hear people coming down the stairs. A moment later she saw the boy in question entering the common room, his blazer left in his room, the tie loosened and askew, his shirt untucked and his hair disheveled.

"…what is it, Jeff? Jude just came bursting into our room, hollering at me to come downstairs, because you wanted me to. I was catching up on my sleep that I wasn't able to get because you left me hanging yesterday…" he rambled, but stopped when he saw the girl that sat on the sofa next to his best mate. His eyes widened and a confused, but delighted smile crossed his face, making him look a lot more awake than he had only a moment ago.

"What are you doing here?" he exclaimed, his voice higher in surprise, but also in joy of seeing her.

"Hey Nick…" Rachel greeted him and gave him one of her bright smiles.

_**To be continued...**_

_**If you liked it even a little bit, feel free to leave something in the comments, I'm always up to hearing what you guys think! Also, if you didn't like something, tell me, critizism is the best way for me to learn and improve!**_

_**Until then! xoxo**_


	4. Chapter 4

**PEople! you are soo nice to me! Seriously, thank you soo much for the comments, the alerts and favorites! And some people even favorited ME as author! Whaaat?! **

**Anyways! I thought I would give you a new chapter today, because I'm in a really good mood, I have almost finished the 14th chapter(whatwhaaat?!) and I'm still on a Warbler high from the last episode! I had to stay up until three am to watch it(it sucks to live in Europe) and then only ended up going to bed at 5, because I had trouble not dying! It was SOO good!**

**Anyways, here is the new chapter, as always, leave a comment of you'd like, you'll get virtual cookies! yes, that's how much I love you all!**

Chapter 4-it's like knowing you since forever

Nick would have expected everything. Everything, except Rachel sitting in his common room. He couldn't believe she was actually there, sitting next to Jeff, smiling slightly at him, as if this was the most normal thing in the world. Which it would be, if they hadn't only met the day before. But still, the feeling inside his belly told him that he was really happy to see her, even if he didn't need a feeling to tell him something so obvious as that. He hadn't been able to concentrate for almost the entire day because of her, after all.

"What are you doing here?" he repeated himself, still too much in a shock to process what was going on properly. Rachel smiled, though, not caring that he had asked her the same question twice.

"I actually came over to say I'm sorry for just driving off, yesterday without even telling you my name. It was really rude" she explained and the smile that appeared on the boy's face was not something he could control. So she had worried about him being upset.

"It wasn't your fault. I was the one shutting the door and walking off just like that. I wasn't thinking" he said, trying to make his voice sound less excited. Really, he had to get a grip, it wasn't as if he had a major crush on the girl sitting in front of him. Was it?

"No, it really was my fault. I should have introduced myself way back in the restaurant…" she tried to argue, but a chuckle coming from next to her made her stop mid-sentence and look over to the blond boy to her left. Jeff smiled sheepishly at being caught laughing.

"I'm sorry, it's just sweet seeing you bicker like a married couple!" he burst out, starting to laugh again. Nick scowled. It was typical for his best friend to make fun of moments like these. Audrey seemed to see the brunette boy's face and stood up, ushering the other boys out of the room.

"Come on, boys, Jeff, Wes, let's leave these two alone to have them catch up, okay? You can have cookies" she said, nudging an unwilling Jude in the back to make him move towards the kitchen. When there was only Rachel and Nick in the room the boy smiled lightly, a little uncomfortable in the situation. It wasn't often that a girl, other than his sister, visited the dormitory for him. He came closer to the couch and sat down carefully, not wanting to come across too strongly by sitting right next to the girl. Really, the day before he hadn't been this nervous around the girl, why had he to be now?

"Well, I know your name's Rachel… I asked Kurt and he told me… I hope that's alright…" he stammered, looking to the ground and rubbing his neck in a way he always did when he was nervous.

"It's totally okay… I think I would have done the same, ask Kurt, I mean. But it didn't hinder you from finding a nick name for me, did it?" she asked, sounding accusing. Nick looked up, prepared to see a scowl on the girl's face but was surprised when she smiled brightly. She really was a good actress!

"How do you kn… Wait, Jeff didn't call you that, did he?" he asked and groaned when she answered his suspicions with a nod. "It really wasn't my idea, I swear! I guess I just moaned a little about not knowing your name yesterday night and Jeff came up with it. I'm so going to kill him when I see him!" he rambled, but didn't notice Rachel smiling brighter and brighter and eventually starting to giggle. He was way too hung up in his own thoughts, so the girl had to nudge him in the shoulder to get him to come back to his senses.

"Nick! It's fine, I don't mind being called like that. Really, it's better than all the other names I'm being called in school…" she said, her voice dropping at the mention of her school. Nick looked up at her, curious as to what the girl meant.

"What do you mean? There are people calling you names? I mean, yeah, you told me about the shlushies, but other than that? What's going on in your school?" he demanded. Rachel sighed and looked at the boy next to her.

"I said my school's less than good. It's a hellhole, 24/7. The jocks and cheerleaders are on top of our hierarchy, and I'm pretty much at the bottom. Right at the bottom, I mean, there's no one else coming after me… not even that creeper kid Jacob Ben Israel, who has a weird crush on me and likes to follow me around, taking pictures. I'm being called names all the times. Hobbit, dwarf, Yentl… all that stuff" she said, looking back down.

Nick was speechless. How could something like that go on in a school? Weren't the teachers supposed to stop things like that? And they did it to Rachel? How could people treat her that way? She was so nice and caring and forth coming, why would people not like her?

"What is going on in that place you call school? Are there no rules?" he asked incredulous. Rachel sighed again and looked back up.

"Nick, your school and mine are pretty much the opposite. Here, everyone loves each other and you all get along, but at McKinley, it's eat or be eaten. And unfortunately, I'm the one who gets eaten most of the time. You know, people think I'm high maintenance, or demanding, or too loud or pretty much anything they don't like about a person. And I admit, sometimes I am like that. But I fight for what I believe in and that's me being destined to be a star and I have to do everything I can to fulfill my destiny. People just don't understand that. They don't know what it's like to have bigger dreams than going to community college. I'm the odd one out at my school and I always will be, but I have put up with it for two and a half years now, I'll pull through the last stretch as well" she explained to the boy. She didn't want them to, but the tears just started creeping up their way. Too long had she swallowed all the stuff that was eating her up, talking about it now was and always would be emotional for her.

Nick didn't want to see the girl in front of him hurting so badly. He would never have thought that someone as awesome as her would be on the receiving end of so much bullying. Without even hesitating, he slid over on the leather couch and embraced her in a tight hug. Rachel seemed to be surprised by his actions, but soon relaxed into his arms. They sat like that for two or three minutes, Nick just giving the girl the comfort he thought she needed. When they let go off each other, Rachel giggled.

"It's so weird. It's like I have known you for so long, while we only met just yesterday. Is it possible to form a friendship this quickly?" she inquired, resting her head in the back of the couch, her legs curled up under her. Nick smiled as well. He had thought the same. They were getting to know each other so quickly, it seemed like they had been friends since forever.

"I guess it's possible… Look at us!" he joked and got Rachel to crack up as well. Nick pulled out a paper tissue and gave it to the girl to dry her tears. They remained in silence for a moment, but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence, it was really calm and relaxed, like they had actually known each other for longer and enjoyed each other's company without having to uphold a conversation.

"I'm actually here to tell you that I followed your advice" Rachel said and looked at the boy sitting next to her. Nick looked confused, not knowing what she was talking about. Had he given her some kind of advice? When Rachel saw he didn't know what she meant, she continued.

"About apologizing to Santana for my horrid behavior towards her. Remember, I told you about it yesterday" she said and Nick began to nod, indeed remembering that they had had that conversation. "She accepted my apology. I still can't quite believe it. I mean, she was insulting me, but she said she accepted my saying sorry. I wouldn't have thought she would" Rachel said and smiled slightly. It was still strange to think about Santana accepting her apology. It was so out of the ordinary!

"That's great! See, I told you she wouldn't be mad at you forever. How could anyone be mad at you, really?!" Nick said and made Rachel blush with his words. It wasn't often that she got compliments, it seemed. When the boy saw her cheeks turn red, he chuckled.

"It's not often that you get compliments, is it?" he asked and when the girl shook her head, he came closer and leaned his head on her shoulder, making him look ridiculous, as he was, even though he wasn't the tallest person, still taller than the girl and their roles should have been reversed. But still his antics made Rachel laugh. "Prepare to be compliment-bombed. You are my friend now, and I love giving compliments. Ask Jeff if you don't believe me!" Nick said and sat back up.

"Well, if you put it that way, I love being praised. But to do so, I think you should get to know me better, don't you think so, too?" Rachel said, her shyness vanished and replaced by a slight air of superiority, even if it was only very well acted. Nick, sensing she was only playing with him, went with it.

"Oh, yes, you are completely right. We shall play 20 questions, then, no?" he said and turned in his seat on the couch, so the two were sitting across from each other, facing.

"Alright, you start" Rachel agreed and leaned back on the couch, making herself comfortable. Nick didn't have to think for long to come up with the most basic question.

"Alright, first things first: What's your full name?" he asked and made Rachel smile at the simplicity of that question. She had thought there would be a little deeper questions, but she didn't know the boy, so what could she expect. For all she knew, he could be as dense as Finn or as crude as Puck, even though he had already proven himself to be different from any other boy the girl had ever met.

"My full name is Rachel Barbra Berry" she stated, making the boy laugh at the tone she spoke with, all important and full of herself. Again she proved that she was an amazing actress, because the smile on her own face made it visible to Nick that she was not thinking of herself like that.

"That's one big namesake you have. Are you aspiring to be as good as Barbra herself?" he asked, astounding the girl with the knowledge Nick held over musical theatre and big names.

"How do you, a boy, know about how big in business Barbra Streisand is? And yes, I do want to become an actress just as brilliant as she is" Rachel said, still a little perplexed. Nick only laughed at the face she made.

"Don't underestimate me, Rachel. Only because I'm a boy doesn't mean I don't appreciate the wonderful world of musical theatre!" he exclaimed, making Rachel think for a moment he was gay. Could it be? He didn't necessarily behave like a gay would. But really, who was she kidding, Blaine wasn't really acting 'gay' either, as were her parents. The girl looked back up when she heard booming laughter from beside her.

"I'm sorry, but your face was hilarious. You could practically see the wheels turning in your pretty little head, trying to figure out whether I am gay or not. To release you, I'm not. I just like theatre, something my mother's at fault for. She dragged me to performances with her since I can remember and somehow it stuck. I find it fascinating, it's like escaping into another world for a few hours and forgetting everything around you, everything that bugs you is just out of the window for that time" he explained and Rachel noticed her breath releasing itself. She hadn't even noticed she had held it, and really, it was stupid. So what if he had been gay, she of all people would be okay with it, having been raised to know that everyone was the same, no matter what sexuality.

"I'm sorry for assuming. It's just, all the boys I've ever met, with the exception of Kurt, don't like theatre and are annoyed whenever I talk about it. It's nice to know it's not only for girls or gays" Rachel said and Nick nodded. He knew what she meant. He himself had had to endure some ridicule because he liked musicals and theatre, from both his friends and strangers. Even Jeff, who was his best friend and had always been, sometimes bugged him about it, all in good intent though, so he knew not to think badly about it. It still hurt sometimes, to be called a sissy, or worse because of his passions.

"Well, I think that were more than one question, but never mind. It's my turn now. Uhhm… what sport do you play?" Rachel asked, trying to change the subject and get the boy in front of her from his thoughts, which were, obviously, not of the best kind.

"Sports? You'll laugh again, but I dance, jazz and tap. I'm also on the baseball team, to make up for the girly sports" Nick said, smiling. At his statement, Rachel looked a little offended.

"I have you know that dancing is not necessarily a girl sport. I mean, yes I dance, too, but at least half of my class consists of boys. There's nothing to be embarrassed about it. If you love theatre and want to do something with it in the future, of course you need to be advised in dancing. It's part of the program! I'd love to go and see you at one of your recitals, okay? I'll be there, first row, cheering you on and I'll punch anyone who laughs about you dancing, I promise. Personally, I think you are awesome for dancing as a sport. All boys I know, even Kurt sometimes, are crap at dancing" Rachel said and made Nick laugh at her brute ways that he didn't know existed. Basically, their whole afternoon consisted of making each other crack up with things they said.

"You have no idea how much you sound like a fortune cookie right now. Someone should write down your remarks and sell them to a company. They'd be the best slogans ever! But anyways, what hobbies do you have, then?" Nick said, turning the attention back to the brunette girl. Rachel didn't have to think long.

"Well, for starters, I dance as well, tap, jazz and ballet. Then I have singing lessons, acting lessons and I maintain a myspace page. I upload videos of me singing every two days. And then there's Glee club, which is very time consuming. Wow, I really do much, don't you think?" Rachel realized and grinned. Nick just stared at her.

"And when, pray tell, do you sleep? Are you some kind of zombie, not needing sleep, because you are undead? Do you want to tell me something?" he said jokingly.

"Oh, Nick, you know me too well already!" Rachel went along with it, resulting in them having the millionth laugh of the afternoon. After they had sobered up, Nick turned back to his conversation partner, the look on his face serious again.

"No, but really, Rachel. You have to get enough sleep. It's unhealthy to do too much stuff at once. You don't want to lose your voice because you overworked yourself, do you?" he said and Rachel nodded.

"Yes, _dad_. Don't worry about me, I still get 7 ½ hours of sleep every night and I'm fully capable of maintaining the lifestyle I'm living in right now. I know when to stop. Believe me, having Laryngitis once is enough for a life time. I do not want to have a repeat of what terrors I had to go through last year" she said.

"You had Laryngitis? That's not something to make fun of" Nick said, concern lacing his voice.

"I'm not making fun of it. It was terrifying. I had to have surgery and the doctors could have damaged my vocal chords, leaving me with no singing voice. I toned it down after that occurrence. I used to upload videos every day, sometimes even two a day" she explained and Nick nodded in understanding. Rachel really knew what she was talking about and he didn't have to worry about her well-being. Wait, where did that come from? Since when did he start worrying about the short girl? He barely knew her!

"Well, I'm happy, then, that you are so forth-looking and responsible. I don't want to visit you in the hospital because you exhausted yourself. Now, to get away from this subject, are you hungry? We could make some sandwiches" the boy suggested and Rachel felt her stomach rumble. She grinned and stood up from where she had sat.

"You know, that's actually a great idea. I didn't really have lunch because I had talked to Santana, then, so something to eat would be lovely. Also, I know there is something vegan in your fridge, so we'll be able to indulge in a right feast!" the girl said, remembering her companion was living on a vegan diet just like her, though for different reasons. Nick only laughed and showed her the way to the kitchen.

**Tadaa! Was it any good? I hope it was good! God, what if it's really bad?! **

**Leave a comment and let me know what you thought! **


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5-The boys

When they entered the kitchen through the dining room, Nick and Rachel were greeted by a wall of loud and rowdy teen boys, each of them trying to get to the refrigerator first. Apparently, the two new found friends weren't the only people hungry in this dorm. Nick's dorm mates didn't even notice the presence of the normally quieter Warbler and his brunette companion. It was a true spectacle to see all the boys wrestling to get a top spot at the fridge and counter. Rachel looked at Nick, a look of confusion apparent on her face, but a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. It wasn't a normal sight to see for her, having grown up as an only child and never really having any friends. Nick simply shrugged and led the girl to the breakfast counter, helping the shorter girl up on one of the stools, like the true gentleman that he was. He sat down next to her and reached over to where some clean water glasses stood next to the sink and poured them both some orange juice to keep their stomachs happy until they would be able to reach the fridge without being squished or trampled by the horde of teen boys.

"Is it always like that?" Rachel inquired, having never seen something quite like that. Sure, she knew Noah and knew he would do pretty much anything to get something to eat, but she had never witnessed an actual fight over who was able to get food first.

"Well, in the afternoons, yes. Audrey cooks breakfast and dinner and lunch is served in school, so we don't have to make ourselves something to eat then, but around five in the afternoon, most of us get hungry, and surprisingly always at the exact same time. Basically, the kitchen's a battlefield, then. I really should have known better and waited to ask you to eat for half an hour. I'm sorry you have to wait now and see this mess!" the boy explained, his head held a little lower, obviously ashamed at her having to see the behavior the other boys displayed. Rachel chuckled. Nick was just so cute in his dorky, sweet way. She already knew she wouldn't let this friendship that had kindled between them slip away from her grasp. It was the best thing that had happened to her in a long time. Better even than finally realizing that Finn was never, and would never be her best match. Nick helped her forget that she had actually suffered under their break up and made it seem almost ridiculous to have shed tears because of the tall Quarterback, even though she had never really told the Warbler anything about it.

"It's quite alright. It's actually fun to see them fighting over something to eat. Makes them kind of look like Neanderthals, don't you think? That on the other hand makes us look really cultivated and mature. So let them struggle some more and let us have a good laugh!" Rachel decided and made Nick burst out in laughter. The girl smiled. Really, it was so easy being around the Warbler, as if they had known each other and be friends since their baby shoes. It was almost surreal to think that they only really knew, or knew each other at all, since the night before.

At the laughter of Nick, some boys turned around to see who had witnessed their struggle to get to the food first. They stopped immediately shoving each other when they saw the girl from earlier sitting at the counter next to their friend and dorm mate. Rachel and Nick burst out laughing again when they saw the boys' faces.

"Wow, you make them behave themselves, Rachel. I think Audrey would love you for coming over more often, especially around this time of the day. You don't want to see the mess left after one of these raids of the kitchen and pantry" Nick commented and made them laugh again. Now almost all the boys had turned around and the ones who hadn't were shoved and nudged in the ribs to do so. They all stared at Nick and Rachel having a blast watching the other boys behaving like animals.

"Don't be interrupted by us sitting here. We're just going to wait until you left the kitchen, in shambles, to make ourselves something to eat as well" Nick said and chuckled slightly under his breath. It was just too funny to see the stunned faces on his normally not so easy to surprise dorm mates. Jeff was the first of them to come back to life, after switching his stares from Rachel to his best friend and back again.

"Bunny nose, are you hungry? I could make you a sandwich. My sandwiches are awesome, you can ask anyone! Really, what do you want to have?" the blond boy rambled, scrambling to get to the refrigerator. Rachel just laughed and shook her head, putting up her hand to make the boy halt in what he was doing.

"It's okay, really, I'm fine waiting until you all are done here. You don't have to make me anything" the girl said and smiled at the boy. Right that moment another boy from near the pantry spoke up.

"So, Nicky, don't you want to introduce us to your new friend? It's rude to have her talking to strangers" the tall boy said. Rachel recognized him as the beat boxing Warbler.

"Sure, you're right, Luke. Right, everyone, that's Rachel, we met yesterday after our performance at Breadstix. She's a friend of Kurt's. Rachel, that over there is Luke" he pointed at the Warbler having asked to be introduced, "don't think he asked to be introduced only so you wouldn't have to speak to strangers. He just wants to know your actual name when he talks about you later with his friends." Jimmy smiled and shrugged from where he stood, while the other boys chuckled at the tall boy's expense. Nick continued.

"That over there, the not so tall at all one, is Jude, he's rooming with Luke and is his best friend. You have to be careful with what you tell him. Jude's a complete gossip and tattle tale, in a good way of course. He knows pretty much everything going on at school" he said and pointed at a boy of about the same height as Nick himself. Rachel recognized him as the one having been sent to fetch Nick earlier in the afternoon. Rachel smiled at the boy when he came over to shake her hand.

"Nick really makes it worse than it is. I just like talking and knowing things that go on around here. Someone needs to know everything, so the others can get the picture in much less words than priory used. Not everyone is a straight A student, like Nicky" he said. Rachel laughed at the boy's bluntness and deemed him nice enough to be friends with, as were all the other boys, apparently. They all smiled at her warmly, making her welcome amidst their chaos. Rachel really wouldn't have thought that boarding school boys could be this nice and sweet.

The next boy Nick introduced was an Asian boy that Rachel recognized as one of the two that had stayed behind at Breadstix the day before.

"That's Wes. He's our head council member. You don't mess with him or his gavel and don't you dare take it away from it. He might not look like it, but if we had a wrestling team, he would be their leader!" Nick said jokingly and patted the boy on the shoulder, while all the other boys cracked up at the comment. The boy next to him, a tall African American, was almost tumbling over from laughing so hard. He was the other one from the night before. Nick turned to him and chuckled at the sight.

"That laughing sack here is David. Believe me, he's always like this, to be honest. Wes and he are best friends, they room together as well. Let me tell, you, sometimes, they seem like an old married couple, they really do. They fight just like my grandparents! And I should know, their room is next to mine" he said and earned both Wes and David some more laughs while the two in question had sobered up rather quickly. While still laughing, Rachel tried to smile at the boys sympathetically, trying to tell them that she wouldn't listen to what Nick said about them and that she would love to get to know them without being biased. The boy moved on and stood next to a tall blond boy, who was even taller than Jeff.

"This good fella is Jimmy. He's our all-round talent, being both an athlete and a Warbler. I mean, sure, I play Baseball, but Jimmy here is in almost every team we have, soccer, baseball, fencing, the list goes on…" Nick explained and the boy moved forward to shake Rachel's hand.

"It's nice to meet you, Rachel. I hope you'll enjoy your time here and we won't annoy you too much. We tend to do that with girls. Wes' and David's girlfriends nearly never come here, because we make so much chaos" he said and made Rachel smile. These boys weren't only sweet, but polite as well! Why hadn't she met them earlier? Nick scoffed from where he stood.

"Oh yeah, I forgot. Jimmy is also a huge smooth-talker. Be careful or he will lure you into his lair and devour you!" he said and earned himself a slap on the back of his head. "I'm only telling the truth!" he defended himself.

"Nicky, Jimmy won't do anything, don't worry. He has recently gained himself a girlfriend. Believe me, he is sickeningly in love with her" a boy of maybe Spanish heritage commented from next to Wes. Nick looked over to him and smiled.

"Oh, well, if it's like that, forget everything I just said. That's Thad, by the way, Rachel" Nick said and leaned against the counter next to where Rachel sat. "He's probably the most normal from all of us. He's, like, super into books and literature, but don't mock him because of it. You don't want to feel his wrath!" the brunette said and all the other boys laughed, except for Thad. It was obviously an inside joke. When the others had silenced again, Nick turned to his new friend and smiled.

"Well, now you know everyone. They really aren't as bad as they seem right now, you just need to get to know and love them" he said and Rachel smiled, turning to the crowd to address them, but was cut off before she could even say a word.

"And what's with me? I'm more important than all the others and yet you don't introduce me to Bunny Nose? Nicky, I thought we were best friends!" exclaimed Jeff from where he stood, his face sad. Nick sighed and walked over to his friend, slinging an arm around the taller boy's shoulders.

"But Jeff, why should I talk about you now when I already did so yesterday? I mean, honestly, I'm your best friend, do you really think I would _forget_ you?" Nick soothed his friend, but not without repeating what had happened the day before for the zillionth time.

"Nicky, I already told you I'm sorry for forgetting you at the restaurant. But let's look at it from another angle. Hadn't I left you behind, you now wouldn't have a pretty girlfriend!" Jeff exclaimed and Nick flushed bright red.

"Jeff, Jeff, Rachel, she… she's not my girlfriend. We… We are just friends. I mean, we just met yesterday!" he spluttered and made Jeff and the other boys laugh. Rachel still sat on her stool, a little embarrassed as well. Why did everyone think they were a couple? Mercedes had said something along those lines as well earlier.

"Alright, if you say so, but your behavior last night tells otherwise" Jeff said and turned to his friends. "Come on, guys. I'm pretty sure there are some more packs of Redvines in Nick and my room. We don't really need a sandwich if we have those. Let's leave these 'friends' to themselves" he announced and the pack of boys left the kitchen with much shoving and nudging, each of them wanting to be the first one upstairs.

Nick turned back to where Rachel sat and lowered his head. He was horribly embarrassed by his friends' behavior.

"I'm sorry you had to see this spectacle. They are really annoying sometimes, especially with new people. Or girls. Like Jimmy said, we don't get too much girls visiting, because we are so chaotic and annoying" he tried to explain, but Rachel shook her head, stopping him in further rambling, something, he obviously tended to do when stressed or embarrassed.

"It's okay, Nick. I actually like all of them and they are really nice. I never thought boarding school students could be so sweet. I always thought they were arrogant or snobbish, because they could afford a private school education. I'd love to come back here, if you want me to" she said and smiled slightly. What was going on with her? She was just barely over Finn and now she was already starting to have feelings for Nick. This shouldn't be! She had promised Mercedes and Kurt to stay single for at least a little while, to get everything back to order. She had to stop thinking about Nick and her as a couple. They weren't and wouldn't be, not if she could help it. Well, they wouldn't be for now, at least. Later, there was nothing to be said against it!

"Of course you can come over again! Really, I enjoyed this afternoon very much and I'd love a repeat of it. Maybe I can show you around some more, then" he said and smiled brightly. Obviously he told the truth, or else he wouldn't look like that now. And from the little bit she knew of Nick already, she knew that he wasn't one to lie about things.

"Okay, well, then give me your phone" Rachel announced and held out her hand for him to lay the cell phone in it. He did so and Rachel handed him her own. Pushing some buttons, she was quickly done with saving her number in the phone and advised Nick to do the same.

"Like this, we won't have to take chances at meeting each other, but actually make dates. I… I mean, meet ups, friendly meet ups, maybe for bowling or something" the girl and struggled to make up her slip up. Nick only grinned.

"I get it, you don't have to explain" he said. A glance to the clock on the wall made Rachel jump. It was already almost 6pm and she hadn't even told her parents where she had gone.

"I hate to break it to you, but I have to leave. I haven't told my parents that I was visiting friends today, so they probably worry where I am. But we really have to repeat this again, okay?" Rachel said, looking a little sad. She could have sat here, talking and laughing for many more hours.

"Oh… okay, well, let me get your jacket. I'll accompany you to your car" Nick said, his voice a little beat down, but before the boy could leave for the living room Rachel spoke.

"I actually don't have a jacket with me. It seems like I forgot it at school. I'm almost certain I left it in school, because I didn't go to my locker after school led out. I just walked straight to my car. Oh, well, it's not that big of a problem" she said, but Nick shook his head vigorously.

"No way am I letting you leave this house without a jacket or a sweater. Do you know how cold it is? I have you reminded that it's only February. You can't go out without a jacket. Come with me" he said and grabbed Rachel's hand, leading her out of the kitchen and towards the big staircase that obviously led to the bedrooms. They went upstairs and into a room through an open door. The room was rather large with an adjoining bathroom. The space however was taken up by all the boys from earlier sitting or lying around on the floor, chairs and beds, staring at the TV screen, where Luke and Jimmy tried to beat each other at some game.

"Guys, don't you have your own rooms? I'm almost sure it's down the hall" Nick commented while climbing over Jude's legs, trying to get closer to one of the dressers. Rachel kept standing where she was in the doorway.

"Bunny Nose, do you have to leave already? Did we scare you off, so you won't be here anymore?" Jeff asked from where he lay on his stomach on his bed. Rachel only smiled at the nick name.

"No, I actually think you all are very nice and sweet. And also, this little bit of chaos is not really going to get me to not come back here. I have a lot more trouble with my choir, so this banter and chaos is a lovely change from what is normally going on. But yes, I have to leave already. My parents don't know where I am and I don't want to worry them. Nick is just overprotective of me, which he totally doesn't have to be, and is lending me a sweater, because I have left my jacket at school" Rachel explained her presence in the bedroom and all the boys around, having heard what she had said, cooed at Nick's protectiveness.

"Shut up, guys, I just don't want to be the cause of her getting ill, okay?! She already had Laryngitis once, she doesn't have to get Pneumonia because of me, as well" he said and came back towards the door, a dark blue sweater with the Dalton crest on it in his hands.

"I hope it is okay. It'll probably be too large" he rambled, but Rachel just took the pullover from him and smiled.

"Thank you. That's really thoughtful of you" she said and pulled the garment on over her short sleeved blouse. Immediately she felt warmer, because she actually had been freezing, even though she hadn't noticed it before.

"Alright everyone, say good bye to Rachel" Nick said to his friends as if they were little boys, and obviously they behaved like that, so they took no offense in it.

"Bye Rachel" they chorused and broke out laughing again, while Nick pushed the girl out of the room and towards the staircase.

"They're just so embarrassing!" the boy mumbled to himself, but Rachel was still able to hear him and smiled to herself. She thought the boys were adorable. Together the two went out of the dormitory and towards the large entrance of the school. When they had arrived at Rachel's car they halted, suddenly not really knowing what to do. It was ridiculous, really, they hadn't been on a date or anything!

"Well, I can say this afternoon was really nice" Rachel finally said, breaking the silence. Nick smiled brightly back at her.

"Yes, you're right, even with the boys it was fun. We should repeat this" he said and the girl opposite him nodded.

"Definitely. You have my number, make use of it, okay? I'd love to go bowling or something, though I have to warn you, I'm not really good at it" she advised, her finger poking in Nick's chest jokingly. They both laughed once more.

"I'm gonna hug you now, okay?" Rachel said and when Nick nodded, enveloped the only slightly taller boy in her arms.

"Why are you asking anyway?" Nick inquired, curious why Rachel had to announce her moves before doing them.

"Well, let's just say that I'm a hugger and not everyone really appreciates it" she said while pulling back. Nick chuckled and when Rachel looked at him with a strange look, he spoke.

"Well, I guess we have the same problem, then!" he said and pulled her back in a bear hug, a friendly one, though. There was nothing to be interpreted into, or at least that was what Rachel was telling herself. When Nick let her go again, he smiled even wider.

"Okay, well, drive carefully, okay? I want to have some more of this friendship!" he said and let Rachel open the car and get inside. He waved when she drove off, until she turned at a corner.


	6. Chapter 6

**_I cannot believe how very nice you all are to me! I just love reading your comments, it makes my heart swell and I feel like a little kid in a candy store! Than you so much! Everyone who reviewed, favorited or alerted this story, feel hugged! _**

**_I think it's time for another disclaimer: In no way do I own Glee or its characters... I mean, yes, I'd like to, because then the newest season wouldn't be so... not good, but I don't so I can't change anything about it... Really, the last few episodes just weren't good... at least not i my opinion... _**

**_For anyone who is wondering, this story will end at the end of season 3, so we still have a very long way to go! I won't abandon this either, because I have SO many ideas in my mind, it would drive me crazy not to write them down!_**

**_Now, as a gift for Valentine's Day, a not all that fluffy chapter... I wanted to hug Nick soo bad while writing this! _**

**_xoxo_**

* * *

Chapter 6-In hiding

Nick smiled to himself when Rachel's car was out of his sight. It was just so weird. They hadn't known each other the day before and now they almost were the best of friends. She didn't even have anything against the boys, and that was one deal breaker for him. He only came in a package with his friends, so if Rachel wouldn't have been able to get along with them, he would have had a hard time de-friending her again, which he most certainly didn't want to do, because she was just really awesome, in his opinion. Her liking the other boys was simply the cherry on top. It was ideal to him. The only thing that wasn't ideal was the weird feelings that were building inside his chest while seeing her leave. It was as if he didn't want to let her go, no matter what. Gosh, he couldn't just fall for her, they barely knew each other, even if it felt differently. He wanted her to be his friend, nothing else, and him making the moves would most definitely result in them parting ways again. He didn't want that, on no cost. He wanted to be friends, just friends.

While making his way back to the residential house, Nick shook his head. He was a fool for letting his feelings have free reign. He had been almost- no not almost, definitely- desperate to get to know her name the day before and now he was starting to think about their future. Why could he never be content with the things he had? Rachel knew him now, and she obviously liked him, or else she wouldn't have been that sweet the whole afternoon, goofing around with him and the boys. Wasn't that enough for now? Wasn't that more Nick could have wished for when he had sat down in her booth the day before? He had thought it would be nice to have some company while waiting and she had looked like she was in need for some, too. So he had sat down, without thinking about anything that could come from it, just trying his luck with some small conversation. And now here he was, having gained one hell of a new friend, the best one he would probably ever have, apart from Jeff, of course, but he didn't really count, because Jeff was already part of the family. Did he really have to ruin EVERYTHING by crushing on her? Couldn't he just stop with all the mushy feelings towards her and be a friend? Just a friend? Of course not, because Nick always had to mess up everything.

When the boy walked back inside, he went straight towards the staircase and upstairs towards his room. The boys had cleared out, probably because dinner would be ready in only a little bit. Still berating himself for his stupidity of letting his damn feelings get in the way, he lay down on his bed, his arms crossed over his chest, staring at the ceiling. Jeff frowned at the sight from where he sat at his desk, trying to bring some clarity into his French essay.

"Dude, are you okay? If I recall correctly, you were pretty much the happiest man on earth about ten minutes ago. Did something happen with Rachel?" he asked, his voice laced with concern. He didn't like seeing his friend and honorary brother like that, plus, it was the second night in a row now. When the brunette boy didn't answer, he stood up from his chair and walked over to Nick's bed, sitting down in front of it.

"Dude, I don't know what she does to you, but this is the second day that you are like that after seeing Bunny Nose. Maybe she's not so good for you after all" he said, looking at his friend, searching for a reaction.

"It's not her, it's me" Nick simply stated, turning onto his side, facing away from the boy on the floor. Jeff's frown deepened.

"What do you mean? I thought you like her" he said. What was wrong with this boy? One moment he is over the moon and the next he is sitting in a corner, moping around. His mood swings were worse than the ones from his sisters, Jeff thought wryly. Instead of getting an answer, Nick just growled and pulled a pillow over his head, indicating he wanted to be left alone. Jeff knew his antics well enough to know that at that point in time, he wouldn't get anything out of his best friend. Slowly he stood back up, walking over to his desk and closing the books that were strewn all over the working place.

"You know I'm there for you when you want to talk, okay? You're my brother and seeing you like that worries me. I don't like it, I really don't" he said before leaving through the door.

Jeff knew that the only thing he could do was wait until Nick would come around and tell what was wrong. It wouldn't do any good pushing him, it would only make him shut himself in further. It was always like that. Whenever Nick had problems of any kind, or sorrows, he would shut everyone else out for some time, go mute and lie in bed until he was ready to talk or had figured the problems out on his own. He wasn't one to share everything the moment it happened, like Jeff himself. The blonde boy sighed and walked downstairs and into the dining room, where most of the other residents of this dorm had already taken their seats and were awaiting Audrey's permission to go and get their food. The boy sat down on his usual seat across from Wes, the chair to his left occupied with Blaine, the one to his right vacant. Everyone had a place to sit, and the sitting order never changed. Right of Jeff would normally sit Nick.

At that moment Audrey emerged from the kitchen and allowed the first group of students to go get their food. Jeff stayed seated, still worried about what was going on with his best friend. He didn't notice the older woman, their house mom, come over and look at him strangely.

"Jeff, where's Nick?" she asked and shook the boy out of his thoughts. He pointed towards the ceiling.

"In our room" he simply stated. He knew others were listening in on the conversation, even though they didn't do it out of spite. He still didn't want to voice his worries in front of everyone, even though they were all his friends.

"Well, doesn't he know it is dinner? Wasn't his friend here only a moment ago? Jeff, what's going on?" Audrey further inquired, her voice rising.

"Rachel left a bit ago. Nicky… he's gone in hiding… again. He was close to doing it yesterday, too, but I got to him before he started going mute" Jeff said, a look on his face that made Audrey calm down again. As lovely as Rachel had been, there were certain rules that had to be kept. Jeff telling her Nick was 'in hiding' told her everything she needed. It wasn't the first time that that had happened.

"Do you know why?" she asked, her voice quieter now, so only the boys at their table could hear what she said.

"No, he didn't tell me what was wrong, only said it was his fault, whatever that meant" he explained and frowned. He really wanted to be there for his friend, but Nick shutting him out was not helping. Jeff turned around when he heard a chuckle from behind him, where Jimmy sat.

"What's so funny?" he asked, his voice rising. There was nothing to laugh about when Nick was isolating. It was worrying and frightening to see the boy during those times. He looked like a ghost, a shadow of his normal self.

"Well, obviously Nicky is love sick. The girl probably shot him down and now he's moping. I mean, really, why would she go out with him anyway?" Jimmy explained, chuckling further. Sure, Nick and Jimmy were really close friends, but it just lay in the tall boy's nature to harass the other boy from time to time. Which still didn't make it okay, though. Audrey seemed to have the same opinion and shot a glare at the broad boy.

"James, I do not want to hear something like that, do you understand?" she said, admonishing the boy. Not many people had a reign over the boy, but surprisingly Audrey had. Jimmy's shoulders slumped and he looked down at his still empty plate.

"I'm sorry, Audrey" he said quietly, not wanting to upset their house mother any further. Audrey turned back from the boy again and looked at Jeff.

"Don't worry so much, okay? I'm sure everything will turn out fine by the end of the day. Maybe he just wanted some alone time to think. From what I could see, Nick and Rachel got along really well, so there can't really be something wrong, can there?" she said and Jeff nodded. Maybe she was right, maybe Nick just wanted some time to think. He often complained that there was never the possibility to be alone, something the boy obviously needed from time to time.

"If Nick's not back to normal by curfew, come and get me. Maybe I can get him to talk" Audrey reassured the worried boy and left to tend to all her other off springs. Jeff sighed. There really wasn't anything he could do for Nick apart from waiting until he would come back to life on his own.

"You heard Audrey, Jeff, you shouldn't worry too much. We all know you and Nicky are like brothers, but I don't think it's anything drastic. Maybe he just said something that he thought was stupid, and he now thinks Rachel won't like him anymore. I'm pretty sure that's not the case, though. You saw them together earlier. They really get along well and personally I think she would be a great addition to our group of friends, even if she technically is a rival" Wes tried to calm Jeff down, the worry produced by the blonde sweeping over the other occupants of the table.

"Wait, Rachel was here? Why didn't I know?" Blaine suddenly asked, frowning. How could he miss out on something like that? And how could he have forgotten her name? It wasn't that difficult!

"Yeah, she was here, surprised Nick a right good lot. They hung out together for most of the afternoon, which you would have known had you been here instead of at the Lima Bean with Kurt… again. Seriously, you need to tone down the coffee you infuse yourself with. Remember what Jeff here looks like on a caffeine shock, we don't want you to be like that constantly" David said, making the table erupt in laughs and thus lifting some of the tension off of their shoulders. Sure, they had seen Nick in his 'hiding state' before, but that didn't mean that it didn't concern them anymore. There always was a different cause for it, so every time was different.

"David, I'm not going to become a coffee junkie only because I go to the Lima Bean from time to time. Also, you should try it out sometime, they really make good Mochas."

Dinner went by faster than all of them had thought and soon Jeff was making his way back upstairs and into his shared room. He really had to finish that French essay, or else he would really be cut out from the Warblers. As proud as the school was of their performing choir, school always went first and you had to pass the required standards to join any club for that matter.

Looking over to where his best friend was lying in his bed, he still saw the same sight he had left about an hour ago. Nick was still curled up in a ball, the pillow over his head, no movement visible. Jeff walked over to him to look at the boy more closely.

"Nicky… Audrey asked me to tell you your dinner is saved up for later… Are you feeling better?" he said timidly, not wanting to disturb his friend in whatever he was doing and going through at the moment. The only answer he got was a grunt, nothing else.

Jeff sighed and walked back to his desk, sitting down on his chair and tried to work on his essay. It was the worst thirty minutes ever, in his eyes. The words just wouldn't come and his mind was more occupied with the worries about his best friend than what he wanted to do after he graduated. He didn't know it in English, how should he know it in French then, huh? Again and again he glanced towards the other bed, making sure the boy was still there and alive. It couldn't be healthy to stay under a pillow for so long, could it? Jeff sighed again.

"Nicky, can I have your dictionary? I lost mine again" he asked into the silence. Again the answer was only a grunt. When he came towards his friend's desk, however, he could make out words, strings of words, repeated countless times.

"…all my fault… just so stupid…. Just friends…. Stop with it…"

Jeff frowned. He had only once experienced Nick in such a bad state of hiding, after his parents had considered him coming back home to live in Akron. He had been plagued by his worries. On the one hand he had wanted to go back, so he would be able to see his sister more often. But on the other hand he didn't want to leave all his friends at Dalton. Nick had rambled under his pillow for more than three hours, until Audrey had gotten through to him and they had talked. She had been the only one to show him some reason, told him that it was his own choice whether or not he wanted to leave. He had decided against it, of course. As much as he loved his sister, he just couldn't leave the family he had here at school.

This couldn't go on like that. Jeff forgot looking for the dictionary and walked out of his room, straight down the stairs and towards the kitchen. He was sure Audrey was still there, and he was right. On a stool she was sitting, making a plan for what was to do the next day, like she always did after dinner.

"Audrey, I don't think I can wait until curfew with Nick. He started rambling and it's freaking me out. Maybe there really is something wrong" he said without taking a breath. The older woman looked up and into the face of the blonde boy, seeing the sheer concern in his blue eyes. She put away the pad of paper and the pen and stood up.

"It's okay, Jeff, I'll look after him. Maybe he really is just desperate for some reason. I'll try my best" she said and walked out of the kitchen, leaving the Warbler where he was standing, leaning on the counter.

'In hiding' they called it. Maybe that was the best word for it, really. Nick didn't want to have to do it, but there just was no other way. He couldn't just go to someone and start blabbering about how stupid he was for letting his feelings get in the way of just being friends with Rachel. He couldn't just talk about it, not even with Jeff. Sure, they would understand, but it wasn't them that were unable to do something like that. It was him. As always. It was always him. He was just not capable to be social when it came to worries or problems… or girls. He knew it wasn't healthy to just swallow everything and try to work it out alone, but what else was he supposed to do? He didn't want to be anyone's burden. It was enough when he had the problems, Nick didn't want to make them someone else's, too.

Not long after Jeff had asked him for the dictionary, he heard the door open and close again. Had Jeff been out? He knew he had been in there before and he didn't have a problem with it, really, because he was his best friend and he knew that he tended to wallow sometimes. But the steps coming up to his bed weren't Jeff's, so much he could hear. He felt his bed dip next to him and a hand on his shoulder.

"Nick… whatever it is, please talk to me" he heard Audrey say and the breath he didn't knew he was holding slowly came out again. He was okay with Audrey trying to get him to speak because Audrey was their mom, all their mom, even if not biologically. But this time he couldn't just turn around and start talking to her. This time was so much worse. Anytime there was something good for him, he ruined everything by simply being himself. He was just too emotional.

"Darling, Jeff is not the only one being worried. I am, too. Is something with Rachel? You seemed to get along very well, did something happen? Did she say something?" Audrey further inquired. They turned it around all wrong. Slowly Nick shuffled from his position, turning to face the woman. He didn't say anything, however.

"Well, at least you move" she said and Nick couldn't do anything but smile slightly, if only for a short moment. From the outside it must look ridiculous. There he was, a 16-year-old, burying himself under his pillow, going mute because he was stupid.

"You know you can tell me everything, Nicky. I won't tell anyone, if you don't want to" Audrey tried to further reassure him, and Nick sighed. Of course she wouldn't tell anyone what she would hear. And she would hear something, without a doubt. He didn't know why, but he could always talk to Audrey, about everything. He sighed again.

"It's just so difficult" he said in a small voice, barely above a whisper. Audrey looked at him with concern and clasped his hand in hers.

"What is? Did something happen between the two of you? Don't tell me it has nothing to do with her, because that would be a lie. Did she do something?" she asked again, but Nick shook his head. Of course she didn't do anything. It was always him.

"No… it's me. It's always me" he voiced his thoughts and saw Audrey's eyebrows rise.

"What's with you, Nick?" she asked, prodding further, trying to get the full picture.

"It's always me" Nick repeated, sighed heavily. "Whenever there is something good for me, I ruin it. Always."

"Did you do or say something to her, Nick? Did you hurt her?" Audrey asked, concern now obvious in her voice. But Nick shook his head.

"NO! No, I didn't do anything… well, not really… It's still my fault. I just can't let myself be happy with what I have. I just want her as a friend" he said and tried to turn back, but the grasp Audrey had on his hand didn't let him.

"Well, why can't you be her friend, then? You obviously got along really well, I could hear your laugh fest all through the house" she said and smiled at the recollection of hearing them laugh. Whatever they had talked about, they clearly had enjoyed themselves.

"Believe me, I want to be her friend. And we get along well, but then I come along, and begin to be all mushy feely, and I get those stupid things in my head, like her being more than a friend and obviously that's not in the picture for her, because she would never be with me, because she's freaking perfect and I'm just me. I really just want to be her friend, but with all those feelings it's not possible, because she will notice it and then she won't want to have anything to do with me and then I will have ruined everything again and I know it's my fault, because of those stupid feelings! Why can't I just be like Jimmy or Luke and not care what my feelings say and just enjoy what I have and not worry so much? I always ruin everything…" he finally let out everything that had been on his mind, beginning to ramble again, so Audrey had a hard time following his train of thought.

"Nick, wait a minute! You're not ruining anything. It's good you feel something towards her, or else you wouldn't be a good friend. And don't ever push yourself down like that. You are an amazing young man and loving and everything a girl could wish for. You don't have to be like anyone else, because you are best when you are yourself" she said, looking at the boy intently. He only sighed.

"But I am ruining everything. What do you think Rachel will do or think when she finds out I have all those feelings towards her. She won't feel comfortable anymore and then she won't come over to hang out. What's worse is that she really enjoyed it here, with all the others, and I would basically take that from her, because being here would mean being in my presence, which would obviously upset her" Nick insisted. Now it was Audrey's time to sigh.

"Nick, I'm only guessing here, okay, but I think all those 'feelings' you speak about, it's just adoration, which is completely fine. Rachel is a very lovely girl and of course being around her makes you feel something for her. I don't think that these feelings will get in your way of being friends with her. She clearly likes you, so don't try and make it harder for you than it is. You probably feel so much at once, because this situation is new to you. You have to get to know her first before being able to categorize her properly. I'm sure that once you have spent more time with her, you will see that all you felt was friendship. You really need to stop worrying so much about the things that happen to and around you. Just enjoy what is" she said and smiled encouragingly at the boy lying next to her.

Maybe she was right. Maybe the reason he felt so much at once was because Rachel and his friendship was developing so quickly, he couldn't quite place her yet. They were obviously close, everyone could see that, so it was only natural for him to feel worry towards her wellbeing, and joy while being with her, no? He really should stop over-analyzing everything. Nick groaned, the stupidity of his action coming onto him full force.

"I really overreacted, didn't I?" he asked and when he saw Audrey nod, he groaned once more. "I'm such an idiot." Audrey chuckled.

"You're not an idiot, you just care for people, which is a very honorable trait. Not everyone can say they are able to do that, so be glad you have an emotional range bigger than a teaspoon" Audrey said and got up. "Next time, come to me, or Jeff, or anyone for the matter, instead of burying yourself in here. We are there for you."

"I know you are. But it's just not my thing to go to other people with problems. I don't want to be a burden" he admitted.

"You're not a burden. Neither for me, nor for your friends" said Audrey before exiting the room. Nick lay back on his back and stared at the ceiling. Maybe it really was just the sudden friendship that had him in such turmoil. Maybe it would be over before it started.

In that moment Nick heard his cell phone vibrate and he took it from where it was stashed in his pocket. Flipping it open his eyes began to shine and a smile was forming on the boy's lips.

_I actually just wanted to tell you that I had a really great afternoon with you. I'm looking forward to repeating this. Thanks again for the sweater, you are lovely! See you soon Bunny Nose*_

Nick chuckled. Only Rachel could form a text message with such style and still sign off with Bunny Nose. He slowly rose from where he lay, pocketing the phone again and made his way towards the door. In the hallway he slowly oriented himself and after hearing Jeff's voice coming from Wes' and David's room, he turned right. Standing in the doorway, he saw the blonde boy sitting on the floor of the other boys' room, Blaine next to him, watching the room's owners play on their xbox. He was content just seeing his friends so careless. He wished he could be like that as well, but then he recalled Audrey's words. You were at your best by being yourself. When he cleared his throat, the boys looked up and began to smile when they saw him.

"You still need to get that French essay done?" Nick asked his best friend as if nothing had happened. Jeff smiled even wider.

"Yeah… I do… I just don't know what to write" he confessed and Nick smiled.

"Come on, then, I'll help you" he offered and in a blink of an eye Jeff was up from the floor and walking towards the door. In silence the two boys walked into their room and closed the door. They sat down next to each other at Jeff's desk and Nick began helping the blonde forming correct sentences. After a moment of working Jeff looked up.

"So, you feeling better again?" he asked, his voice quiet, but hopeful at the same time. He didn't want to upset his friend by prying on private matters. Sure they were best mates, but they still needed to be separate persons. Nick only smiled.

"Yes, I'm better" he just said, not evolving further into what had actually occurred. It was nothing to be talked about because he was sure it would be over in no time.

"I'm glad" Jeff just answered and turned back to his work.

Downstairs, Audrey thought about the things Nick had told her. Did she really think his feelings would just subside with time? No, definitely not. What he had was not a crush because of Rachel's novelty. No, Nick was diving head first into something no one could completely understand. And from the looks of it, Rachel was, too. She had known there was something more than friendship from the girl's side the minute she showed up at the front door and didn't know what to call Nick. She had settled for friend, but for how long it would only be that even Audrey didn't know. Never mind that, though, because these two were obviously perfect for each other, or else it wouldn't have clicked at first sight. The woman smiled to herself. Only time could tell what would become of those two.

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**_I hope I haven't overlooked any mistakes! If so, feel free to point them out to me!_**


	7. Chapter 7

_**I'm back! Sorry for the kinda long wait, but I only just now got a new laptop after my old one went to laptop heaven...**_

_**I haven't had the time to prove read this chapter, so if there are any mistakes, please tell me! Nothing is worse than a good story made impossible to read because of numerous mistakes!**_

**_Again, I don't own Glee, it'd be cool tho..._**

**_Have fun reading and feel free to follow, favorite and leave reviews, they are like chocolate cake for me: a gift from heaven!_**

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Chapter 7- Not the enemy!

After explaining to her dads where she had been the whole day and promising to give notice the next time she would be out after school, Rachel went upstairs and into her room. Opening up her laptop and signing into IM, she searched the bar for a particular name. Upon finding it, she clicked on it and immediately started typing.

GoldStarBerry: You have been holding out on us, Mister!

SweetPorcelain: Excuse me? What are you talking about, Rachel?

GoldStarBerry: Well, Kurt, obviously I'm talking about your new friends at Dalton. Why didn't you tell us, or me, for that matter, that they're all very nice and cultivated young men? I'm disappointed in your lack of trust in me!

SweetPorcelain: I'm not lacking trust in you, Rachel, I simply didn't think there was a need for me to tell you all about them. And how do you know them, anyway? That's what I wanted to ask you anyway, darling, why did I get assaulted this morning by one of them only to tell him your name? Have _you_ been holding out on _me?_

GoldStarBerry: Nick and I met yesterday and we got to talking and then I visited him earlier and we got to know each other and then I met all the other Warblers, well, at least a few of them, and they were all very nice, if not a little bit rough around the edges. Very energetic.

SweetPorcelain: Okay… Well, I guess as long as you get along, I don't have anything against you being friends. It's actually a relief, to know you know them as well. It's like our two groups are melting together. I don't want you guys to hate us, because we're rivals. You know what I mean?

GoldStarBerry: Yes, I know what you mean. Just know that I would never turn on you, no matter what singing group you are part of. As long as you are safe and sound, you'll be my best friend, no matter where you go to school.

SweetPorcelain: That's sweet of you, Rachel. But tell me more of that budding friendship you and the chaos maker have.

GoldStarBerry: Chaos Maker?

SweetPorcelain: That's my nickname for Nick. He is, by far, the most uncoordinated person I have ever met. Worse than Finn.

GoldStarBerry: I thought he was a dancer…

SweetPorcelain: I'm not saying he can't dance, because he can, no doubt on that. He's still the person to ALWAYS mess up the choreography. It's endearing, really. It's nothing drastic, but there are always certain knacks that Nick picks up on, to flaw the performance. But it's part of who we are as a group by now, so it actually makes us better as a whole. Didn't you notice him goofing around during 'Silly Love Song'?

GoldStarBerry: Well, now that you say it, I did notice something was off, in a good way, though. It was as if there was someone making the performance ease up a little, making you less stiff and more fluid. That was Nick?

SweetPorcelain: You name it. It's funny seeing him during rehearsals, taking a spin on each and every choreography and making it his own. But back to the subject at hand. How did you meet?

GoldStarBerry: I told you. After your performance yesterday, I stayed longer and Nick came and sat down in my booth. We began talking and really enjoyed each other's company. And then I visited him again after school and we hung out until now, actually. I just came home.

SweetPorcelain: Well, I'm happy you get along so well. From what I got to know about him in the short time I have been at their school, Nick is a very honest person. But he's also very sensitive about things going on in his life. I think you fit together really well, actually.

GoldStarBerry: Kurt, Nick is not my boyfriend and he won't be. We are just friends. Really, everyone assumes we have a thing or something, but we are just really close, even though we only know each other for a little bit. It sounds weird, but it's like we know each other for a very long time already.

SweetPorcelain: You just keep telling that yourself. I know you are in for something big with Nick. Believe me, I know what I'm talking about. He's a Warbler, you will experience something epic, no matter if it's only on a friendly level or romantically. Nick's a keeper, for sure.

GoldStarBerry: If you say so… Anyway, what have you been up to today?

SweetPorcelain: Way to change the subject, Rachel, well done! But if you ask, I was at the Lima Bean with Blaine.

GoldStarBerry: Oh, so that's why he wasn't at home in the afternoon. Did you have a good time? Is it still a little weird after the talk that you had? I mean, about him serenading someone else?

SweetPorcelain: Well, it still is a little awkward at times, but we start getting more comfortable again. It'll take some time, though, I'm sure.

GoldStarBerry: I'm sure you'll work everything out, Kurt. You are a fighter just like I am.

SweetPorcelain: You are a dear, Rachel. I can't believe we used to not be friends. But I'm sorry, Carol just called for dinner. Have a nice evening, diva!

GoldStarBerry: Yeah, you, too, Kurt. Love you!

SweetPorcelain: Love you, too, diva!

Rachel smiled to herself. Nick was becoming sweeter and sweeter by the minute. Although she normally was all for perfection in a routine or choreography, she couldn't help it but think Nick's 'slip ups' were adorable. But no, she had to stop thinking about the boy in such a manner. He was just a friend and she really didn't want to have a boyfriend at the moment, even though he was perfect material. Surely Nick didn't want to be with her either. They both really only wanted friendship, right?

The girl shook her head. Thinking about all this wouldn't make her find an answer easier. She would just have to see what happened. If anything happened at all. Rachel was reading way too much into things. She needed to start focusing on things more important right now. Like, getting her image improved without having to depend on a boy of particular status at her side. And she knew exactly how she would do that.

But all that would only start the next day. Rachel had to get her beauty sleep in order to accomplish everything she wanted. Changing into her pajamas, she lay down in bed, cuddling her bright pink teddy bear called Sparkles to her chest. This day had gone really well. She had made herself feel better by apologizing to Santana about her behavior and had gained not only one, but eight new friends. What could've been better? Thinking about her friends made her smile. The Warbler boys were just so special, in their own ways. They took Rachel the way she was, without wanting to change her.

Sitting back up, the girl took her phone and formed a quick message to Nick. She just wanted to tell him again that she had really enjoyed her day at the boarding school and looked forward to a repeat. After signing off with Bunny Nose, she pressed send and shut her phone, smiling like a mad woman. Yes, Nick was becoming the best friend she had ever had, apart from Kurt, even though they had only really formed a friendship that afternoon. But true friends didn't need many words, right? With that thought running through her head, she lay back down and closed her eyes, falling asleep sooner than she would have thought possible.

The next morning Rachel woke up, feeling great. She had a mission to run to make her more popular and she was almost certain it would work excellently. The girl hopped out of bed and onto the elliptical, running half a marathon to get her morning workout done. It felt as if she had all the power in the world and nothing would get her down. When she was done, she walked right to her en suite bathroom, taking a hot shower.

Shortly afterwards, she walked back into her room and to her closet, trying to find the perfect thing to wear on that day. She had to stand out, as always. Her eyes landed on Nick's sweater that Rachel had laid over the back of her chair and smiled. That would be the perfect thing to wear. Not only was it warm, which was great with the weather Ohio was currently sporting, but it also made her feel as if Nick was close with her, right by her side, encouraging her in everything she did. Rachel nodded to herself. Yes, today she would sport the Warbler look. Rummaging through her closet she found dark leggings and a simple tank top and put it on. The only thing standing out would be the sweater, fitted at the waist with a bright red belt. To that, she would wear black flats and a red head band. Perfect. When she was done with her hair and makeup, Rachel took a quick photo with her phone and sent it over to Westerville with the caption 'Warbler Pride'. Rachel smiled to herself. This would not only make Nick laugh, but without a doubt all the other Warblers as well.

Giddy with anticipation for the new day, Rachel jumped down the stairs and into the kitchen, where her dad was already preparing her breakfast smoothie for the day. Taking the tall glass from his hands, the girl sat down on one of the bar stools at the counter.

"Good morning, darling. You seem in a good mood today" her dad greeted her and planted a kiss on his daughter's forehead.

"I am happy, dad. This day is going to be great, I'm sure of that" Rachel stated and gave her father one of her dazzling smiles. Hiram only laughed. He loved every minute his daughter was happy like that. It was way too often that she was pensive or not as happy as she should be as a sixteen year old girl.

"That's great to hear. Do you plan on going back to your new friends today?" he asked and the girl shrugged.

"I don't know yet. I have Glee practice after school, so it'll be pretty late when I come home. I also have to go through some scales for singing lessons tomorrow. I have to admit I've been slacking with my practice" she said, looking a little sheepish. Her father only laughed.

"Rachel, as long as you have fun you don't have to worry about slacking off. We all know you are brilliant and don't really need the lessons, but we encourage you in everything you do. If you want to go out with friends instead of practicing, that's okay" he said but Rachel shook her head indignantly.

"No dad, I really have to practice. I know I'm good, but there's always something bigger and better to achieve. I want to be as good as possible by the time I apply to universities, so I won't have to worry with getting accepted" she explained and her father nodded, understanding what she meant.

"I get it, darling, but just don't exhaust yourself too much. You being in the hospital because you overdid it won't help you in achieving anything" her daddy said while walking in the kitchen, his tie still untied. "Good morning baby girl" he added when he sat down next to his daughter and kissed her forehead.

"I won't overdo it, I promise. Believe me, I don't want to go through a time like when I had Laryngitis. It's nothing to be desired to go through again" she said and her parents nodded, understanding what she meant. All of them had been weary during the time she had had the disease.

"Alrighty, kid. Now go, or else you will be late for school" her daddy said and Rachel jumped from her stool, leaving the now empty glass on the counter.

"You are right, daddy. I will see you later today. Have a great day" she said while kissing both her parents' cheeks, then went out into the hallway to retrieve her schoolbag. Glancing at her phone made her smile when she read the message that had arrived during her breakfast time with her parents.

'_Yay! Our first groupie! Have a great day- Nicky_

With this kind of message, her day was doomed to be great, or at least without any hitches. Rachel grabbed her bag and with a 'see you later' to her dads, made her way out and into her car. This day would go great. Rachel cranked up the volume of her radio and began singing along to the song on the station, which was surprisingly Firework, the song she had sung only a few days before. She smiled. Singing Firework had been really fun and while singing it, she had finally realized that she didn't need Finn for anything.

Sooner than she would have thought she arrived at school and hurried over to the building. There weren't many people inside yet, as usual, because Rachel always arrived overly early. But she liked it that way. Rachel didn't fancy being harassed in the early mornings, it was enough to be the target of bullying during the rest of the day.

After fetching her things from the locker, where she found her jacket, she made her way to the Choir room. She always stayed there until classes started. No one bothered her there, so she was left alone to practice. But instead of practicing, Rachel only sat down at the piano and sighed.

Why had she gotten so excited when she had seen the text from Nick? Sure, they were friends, and she really liked the Warbler, and all his friends, but was it that massive that she almost depended on him? She looked forward to each and everything she could link to the boy. Wearing his sweater made her feel almost special. There weren't any feelings other than friendly ones, were there? There couldn't be. Rachel had sworn herself not to get involved in anything. She didn't need the trouble that having a boyfriend would lead to. She needed to start being independent or else she would never be the real big star that she was destined to be.

No, from now on, everything having to do with Nick, or any other boy for that matter would be simply friendly, nothing more. It was easier said than done, though, because there had been something between the two from the moment they had started talking. They were on the same page, so to say, having the same interests and wanted to do big. Not like Finn, who never knew where exactly he stood. They were alike, and that made their bond so strong. She didn't want it to weaken, because the time with Nick was the best she had had so far. She wanted to continue this friendship just like it was before, only without getting too attached.

Rachel was deep into her thoughts when she heard the door behind her open. She turned to see who was interrupting her in her precious down time, and stared at the person entering. It was Finn.

"What do you want? You never are in school this early" Rachel asked, getting up from where she sat. She didn't want to talk to Finn, there were more important things on her mind. She had a reputation to improve.

"Hello to you, too. My mom and Burt were way to cozy this morning at breakfast so I kind of had to flee. I mean, it's great that they love each other, but there is only so much I can bear. Wha-Wait, what are you wearing?" Finn stopped and stared at the crest on the sweater. Rachel looked down at it and smiled.

"Oh, it's a Dalton sweater" she said nonchalantly, as if there wasn't anything strange to it, and there wasn't actually.

"I see that! Why would you wear a sweater from _them_ and how did you get it, anyway?" Finn further asked, his voice rising. Obviously he didn't like what she was doing, not that it was any of his concern.

"I wear it, because I have friends there, and someone gave it to me, because I was cold. Thanks for asking, but it's not any of your business. Now I really need to get going, I need to find Brittany before classes start" Rachel said and with that left the choir room.

Rachel kept on walking down the hallway, always on the lookout for the tall blond girl. She found her at her locker, rummaging through it, as if on the search for something.

"Brittany I need your help" Rachel announced as soon as she stood next to the ex-cheerleader. The girl turned around, a look on her face that could have said everything, but her being intelligent.

"Is your cat eating pop tarts, too?" she asked, as if it was the most normal thing to inquire. Rachel frowned at the weird things the girl said, but didn't think anything more of it. Rachel was used to the things Brittany said by now, so there wasn't any surprise.

"No… I need you to improve my reputation" Rachel announced and looked up at the tall girl, only to be looked down upon with a baffled expression.

"But I already have a reputation. I can't have yours, too" she stated, making sure once more that Brit wasn't the brightest bulb.

"Brittany, let me get it clearer. I need to improve my reputation without having to depend on a male for it, so I have a proposition. I will give you half my allowance and you will wear clothes like me to school. Every time someone asks where you got the look from, you will tell them you are copying me, okay? Do you understand?" Rachel explained and the other girl smiled.

"Of course I understand. I'm not stupid, you know? And I can use the money for whatever I want?" she said and made Rachel question why she actually wanted to go through with her plan if it meant having to deal with someone as ditzy as Brittany.

"Sure you can use the money for what you like" she answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. And it was, wasn't it?

"Even for cat treats?" Brittany further asked and Rachel had a hard time not to roll her eyes.

"Yes, even cat treats. Look, I will email you a list with what to wear the next day every evening and then you just do what is written there, okay?" she said and looked at the blonde for confirmation.

"Yes, okay. I already told you, I'm not stupid!" With that, Brittany turned around and left for wherever she was headed. Rachel wasn't sure if that location was a class room. Brit tended to get lost on her way anywhere. But that wasn't her problem now. She would have to hurry if she wanted to make it to class on time.

The rest of the school day was spent not thinking about anything but her classes. Rachel was keen in having a perfect record and she would do almost everything in the legal ways for it. She had to stand out to be accepted at high class universities, both vocally and scholastically. What was the use of a good voice if you didn't excel in anything else?

When classes led out, Rachel was one of the first to be in the choir room again. Rehearsal would start in only a little bit and the girl wanted to make sure to get a seat in the front row. While waiting for the others to arrive, Rachel pulled out her phone to check if she had any notices from her fathers. They tended to send her messages whenever they had to stay longer at work or asked her to do some shopping. Rachel was surprised to see there were messages. Friday normally was the day both her dads were home before her. There never came something in between on Friday. But the messages weren't from her fathers, but from numbers she didn't recognize. Weary she opened the first one.

_We love your love for us! Also, the outfit really flatters you! –Luke_

Rachel smiled. How the Warbler had gotten her number was out of her reach, but the kind words made up for it. The girl now had an idea from whom all the other texts were and this idea was proven right when she opened the other ones.

_It's so sweet you show your support like that! Can't wait for you to come back to Westerville!- David_

_*knock knock* your outfit is gavel-approved!- Wes _Rachel really had to laugh at that one!

_I can hear everyone talking about you showing your support! You got something rolling, gurl!- Jude_

_You're not mocking anyone, love. You want to be a Warbler, admit it!-Thad_

_Look at that! Nicky has his own groupie! Oh, he's turning red! So sweet!- Jimmy _

Rachel chuckled. These boys were going to be the death of her. In a good way of course. Right in that moment, another message arrived at her phone with a vibrate. She looked at the device again and smiled when she actually saw a name on her display.

_I'm SO sorry! I showed the boys your photo and they snatched the phone away. Now they all have your number, I guess. Be prepared to be bombed with messages, they want you to stay here forever! They're like little puppies, they mean no harm! Again, I'm so sorry! _

Nick and his overprotective ways! He really didn't have to apologize for the boys' behavior. Rachel found it rather cute, to be honest. No one had ever made such an effort to compliment her. Quickly she wrote an answer.

_Don't be sorry for them, they're adorable. Tell them I'll be over as soon as I can. I really want to hang out with you again, maybe you can teach me how to play on the Xbox!_

While hitting send, Rachel's phone vibrated again, indicating another text message had arrived. When she saw it was from an unknown number again, she got an idea from whom this text was.

_BUNNY NOSE! We all miss you! Please come back soon, or else we will be very sad :( -Jeffy_

Before she could forget, Rachel saved all of the boys' numbers to her contacts. The messages had made her day even better. The little argument with Finn in the morning was almost forgotten. Well, until he stormed into the class room and stood in front of her.

"Why are you still wearing that pullover, Rachel? If you want to show support, you should show it to our school, not some other random people" he hollered and Rachel rolled her eyes. The other students entering the room gave them curious looks, both because of the sweater and because they were arguing.

"Finn, I already told you, some of them are my friends and I'm wearing a friend's sweater, just like I sometimes wear one of Noah's sweaters when I'm cold. What do you want me to do? Disrobe myself so you can be happy?" Rachel argued, not in the mood to deal with anything Finn said or did.

"Wha- why do you have a sweater from Puck? You're not a couple" Finn stated, looking over to where the boy in question sat next to Lauren.

"Finn, Noah is one of my best friends, he once gave a sweater to me, so what. Don't you know the concept of a male/female friendship?" Rachel questioned. Noah nodded from where he said.

"She's right, dude. Rachel's like my sister or something. She was over for dinner once and she was cold, so I gave her a sweater, big deal" he defended her. Rachel turned back to the mohawked boy and thanked him quietly. Finn didn't seem to be satisfied, though.

"I don't care if you are friends with them. Remember last year? You made friends with Jesse and look where that lead us" Finn continued to argue, but Rachel had enough. She sat down on her chair again and crossed her arms in front of her chest, beginning to get annoyed.

"Finn, the boys from Dalton aren't Jesse, okay? They're all very nice and sweet" she said, her nerves getting the better of her. If Finn didn't stop with this soon, she would throw a fit; that was for sure.

"Rachel you don't get it! You are fraternizing with the enemy. Again!" Finn shouted. That was enough. Rachel stood back up and if her looks could kill, Finn would now lie six feet under, in a wooden box.

"So Kurt, your _brother_, is the enemy, huh? You don't understand anything, Finn. It's not your business what I do or who I'm friends with, because you are not my boyfriend anymore. I enjoy being in the presence of them, because they are genuinely nice and want to be friends with me, not spy on us. You don't get what Glee club is about, do you? It's about having fun and making friends. And I'm doing just that, making friends. So stop being such a… such a… douche!" she exclaimed and silence followed. Rachel was angry, everyone could see that. Rachel only ever used curse words if she was really angry. Everyone looked at the smaller girl, not daring to say a word, apprehensive as to what would follow. Everyone, except for Finn, because he didn't let go of the subject, but turned to the others in the room.

"Guys, what are you saying to this? I think Rachel is making the same mistake she did a year ago" he said, expecting to be backed up. But it came otherwise.

"Actually, I think you are overreacting, Finn. Vocal Adrenaline was known to be manipulative and Rachel learned her lesson, but I don't think her being friends with the Warblers is going to harm our chances at winning at Regionals" Tina, the normally quieter girl spoke up and Rachel gave her a thankful smile.

"Tina is right. From what I have heard from Kurt, all those boys are nice and fun to be with. If you don't want us to be friends with other groups, you are basically saying we should stop having any contact to Kurt as well, and I'm not down with that, white boy. I know Rachel and I know she can handle the situation. Now stop acting as if you still were her boyfriend. You don't have a say about anything she is doing" Mercedes backed her up as well and Rachel was thankful to have friends like that. A year ago, no one would have been so nice and been on her side. A lot had changed. In that moment Mr. Shue entered the room, clapping in his hands and smiled at the group. He gave Rachel a confused glance because of the sweater, but didn't say anything to it.

"Alright, guys, it's time to play some music!"


	8. Chapter 8

_**Hey guys! I felt like updating today! It's nice outside, there is no snow anymore (yes, we still had snow up until two weeks ago!) so I thought why not! **_

_**You have NO idea how happy I was at the good reception over the last few weeks! It warms my heart when I see others like what I write! I want to be a writer and you guys give me hope that I actually have what it takes to become one! Cheers to YOU! I'll make sure to include you guys in the acknowledgments of my books, whenever it might be finished!**_

_**Thank you to those who reviewed, followed and favorited! Have some cookies! **_

_**This chapter basically is the same day as the chapter before, but from Nick's point of view, and what he did over the course of the day. I always thought we didn't get enough insight of what happened at Dalton, so here is my version of a normal day as a Warbler.**_

_**Feel free to leave me messages and reviews about how you liked this, it certainly will make me feel good, or bad, depending on what you write. But even criticism will be well accepted!**_

_**xoxo **_

Chapter 8- Calls, sisters and annoying friends

By the time Nick had woken up the next day, he had the feeling there wouldn't be too many problems with him stopping all those feelings towards Rachel. In fact, he already felt less and less bad about him having these feelings in the first place and that was always a good thing. Getting out of bed was much easier like that, because he could actually start having fun and stop berating himself again. Hopping out of bed, he walked across the room and towards Jeff's bed, shaking the blonde boy awake.

"Dude, why do you have an alarm clock in the first place if I have to wake you anyway? Get up or you'll be late" he said, trying to pull the blanket from the other boy's form, but to no avail. Jeff held onto it with a death grip, grunting something about 10 more minutes in the process. Nick gave up. There was no use in waking Jeff up if he fell asleep again mere seconds later anyway.

"Alright, 10 more minutes, but then you get up, or I get the bucket" Nick resumed and walked over to the bathroom. Sometimes he felt like his own mother with Jeff. He always had to look out for the boy or else he would never get up and to classes. What was worse, Jeff trusted each and everyone, so if Nick didn't look after him, he surely would be kidnapped, even if he was almost seventeen years old and pretty strong, what with being a dancer. But you could never be cautious enough with the blonde boy. He came from a small town, smaller than Westerville, which was close to nothing, and he had known every person there. So going to school in a larger town, with more people he didn't know was dangerous for such a good soul that was Jeff Sterling. Nick didn't think there would ever actually happen something, but you never knew and Nick really didn't want to take any chances.

After getting ready in the bathroom, Nick emerged again, this time more urgent to get his best friend out of bed.

"Jeff, I'm serious about the bucket. I'm not kidding, I will douse you in ice cold water if you don't get up right now" Nick threatened and the words did the trick.

"It's okay, I'm getting up, I'm getting up. Man, you need to be nicer to me in the mornings, you know how much I need my sleep" Jeff moaned, clearly not too happy to get woken up.

"Yes, you need your sleep, but not during classes. Look at it like this: It's Friday, meaning we have weekend later, meaning you can sleep however much you want. And now get in the bathroom and into your clothes, or you will be late again. How did it go yesterday, by the way?" Nick said, changing the subject away from the sleep issue.

"Don't make me think about it. I was this close to being late again. I literally stepped foot inside the room the moment the bell rang. Mme Leblanc couldn't do or say anything, though, so I was lucky" Jeff said while grabbing his things and marching into the bathroom. Before the boy could close the door, however, his dorm mate spoke up again.

"Don't forget we have that formal with the Crawford girls tomorrow evening. You know, for the boarders?" Nick said and Jeff groaned, knocking his head on the wall.

"Noo… that again? I really don't understand why the school wants us to go to these damn formals every other month. As if we don't wear enough suits and blazers during school. Now we even have to dress up at the weekend. It's an unfair life, Nick, I tell you that!" he sighed and Nick had to chuckle at the outburst of emotion from his best friend. Jeff just hated the formals that were held every three months. All the Crawford girls were horribly stuck up and no fun, so unlike Rachel. (Okay, maybe Nick's sister Maggie wasn't all bad, either, but really, the boy was biased!) Nick smiled at the thought of the brunette short girl.

"Come on, Jeffers, it's only going to be a couple of hours in the evening, we won't die. Is any of your family coming over from Cincinnati?" Nick continued to ask, trying to steer the conversation away from the unpleasant subject that was the formal. Jeff shook his head.

"No, they can't. But it's not a big deal, Julie and Janey are going to come over next weekend. They wanted to stay for longer, so they had to wait until some free time from their school" the blonde explained and smiled slightly. No matter what he told others about his sisters, about them being a pain in the butt and completely stupid, Nick knew otherwise. Jeff truly loved his siblings from the bottom of his heart, all four of them. But at the sound of the twin sisters visiting Dalton, Nick had to shudder.

"Well, that's going to be fun then!" he joked. Jeff looked at his friend, slightly confused.

"What do you mean with that? Don't you like my sisters?" And there was the protective older brother! Nick shook his head, holding up his hands in surrender.

"Jeff, your sisters are like my sisters! It's just going to be a scream fest when they arrive, that's all" he said, but continued when the other boy still looked not understanding, "Jeffrey, my sister hasn't seen your sisters in almost half a year. Do you really think they are just going to hug and shake hands? I don't!" he explained and it finally dawned on the other boy. Then he scrunched up his face, as if he had bitten into a lemon.

"Oh, please no, I still hear them from last time! It was horrible!" he laughed and turned to enter the bathroom.

"Tell me about it!" Nick shouted after him and left the dorm for the kitchen. The smell of bacon greeted him in the hallway and the boy smiled. Audrey was way too good for the bunch of idiots that they were! The boy entered the dining room and grinned when he saw their house mother stirring something or other in one of the pans.

"Good morning Audrey" he greeted her cheerfully and sat down on the counter, pouring himself a glass of orange juice. When the woman turned, she smiled as well.

"Good morning Nicky! Did you sleep well?" she asked and turned back to one of the cupboards to retrieve a plate for the boy. She loaded some bacon and a few pancakes, made extra for him, without any dairy products or real egg, onto it and handed it to the dark haired boy.

"Thank you! And yes, I slept well, even though Jeff snores like a chainsaw!" Nick joked and Audrey laughed loudly. Of course he was exaggerating, but there was such joy in teasing his best friend.

"Oh, Nicky, I know you too well to have you tell me you don't like something about your best friend. Admit it, even his snoring makes you think he's your best friend!" the woman said and Nick chuckled. Of course Audrey was able to look right through him!

Nick stood up from where he sat at the counter, taking his plate with him. "Thanks again for the breakfast, Audrey! You're the best house mom one could wish for" the boy said in farewell and made his way over to the dining room and towards his table. Wes and David already sat at the table and were digging into their breakfast. When the brunette boy sat down at his usual seat, the Asian and dark skinned council members only smiled at him. There was an unspoken rule between them that any incidents concerning Nick and his hiding were not to be talked about once they were over. It would only make Nick feel embarrassed and no one really wanted that.

"Morning guys" Nick greeted his friends and they nodded in response, their mouths too full to greet back. Even though it was an all boys school, they were still well mannered and found it important to behave well.

"So, you looking forward to the formal tomorrow?" he asked, grinning because he already knew the answer. It was common knowledge that the Dalton boys all hated the often held formals with the Crawford boarding school for girls.

"Nicholas! Don't mention it, I already had a nightmare about a mob of screaming girls hunting me down. Really, they should know by now that I have a girlfriend, she goes to the same school!" Wes exclaimed and Nick chuckled. What Wes said made sense. The last time there had been a formal, some girls had tried to lock Wes in a broom closet for a forced game of '7 minutes in heaven'. Jeff and he had only been able to rescue him because he had screamed like a little girl, begging the hyenas of girls to be let out.

David and Nick only chuckled. This was also a thing not to be talked about anymore. The part about the screaming like a girl.

The boys continued to eat and were soon greeted by the sight of a very tired Blaine and a slightly more awake Jeff. They came trudging out of the kitchen, plates in their hands, their eyes barely open.

"Good morning sleepy heads!" Nick greeted the boys and Jeff winced at the loud voice of his best friend.

"Nicky, stop yelling! It's in the middle of the night!" the blonde complained, sitting down next to his roommate.

"I have you know, Jeffrey, that it is almost eight o'clock. That barely counts as the middle of the night" Nick answered, but didn't bother the other boy anymore. He knew Jeff would only end up grumpy for the whole day.

The five boys kept eating in silence, everyone minding their own business, Wes thinking about how he would get out of having to attend the formal while Jeff tried to come up with a way of getting maybe an hour more sleep. Nick on the other hand had only thoughts about one certain girl. It was ridiculous, he already missed her a little bit, even though he had only seen her a couple hours ago. He really had to get a grip on his wayward emotions, he didn't want to end up as a blubbering mess. His break down the night before had been enough, he was sure about that.

"Well, look who's back from his excurse from under the covers! Nicky, have you gotten over your pubescent phase of being an emotional wreck and come back to the normal people?" Nick suddenly heard from behind him and sighed. Of course Jimmy would be the one to not hold on to their rule of not talking about anything concerning Nick's slight breakdowns.

"Jimmy" the brunette acknowledged the taller boy, not turning around to look at the smirking boy. And he would smirk for sure. Sure, the boys were friends, but that didn't mean Jimmy didn't like to tease and bother Nick wherever and whenever he could. But Nick wouldn't give into his game. No, he would just ignore the comments that were sure to come over the course of the day.

Jeff on the other hand turned around, annoyance obvious on his face.

"Jimmy, shut up, okay? It's none of your business!" he said, his voice rising slightly and his tiredness forgotten. No one was teasing his best friend about his insecurities!

"Oh, someone's touchy! What's it to you, Jeffy? Are you jealous of the pretty girl? Do you want to have your 'best friend' to yourself? Are you afraid she'll hook up with him and take him away from you?" Jimmy teased further and Jeff started to turn red in the face.

"You- I- You-"he spluttered, but Nick put a hand on Jeff's arm, calming him down.

"James, sometimes you are such a douche, I don't even know why I'm friends with you. Stop implying something you have not even the slightest gist of, okay? You know very well, that Jeff and I have been best friends since freshman year and this won't change in any way or the other. And I won't hook up with Rachel, either. We are friends! Do you understand the concept of a boy-girl friendship? I don't think so!" Nick said, his voice calm, but seething at the same time.

He was sick of it, really sick of it. For the last one and a half years Jimmy had implied that there was something more going on between him and Jeff. And that was completely ridiculous. They were best friends and very close, yes, telling each other almost everything, but that didn't mean they were involved in any other way. They weren't gay, not in any way or kind. They both had had girlfriends before and Jimmy knew this, but still he kept on with the implications.

The other boys at the table were quiet after Nick's outburst. It wasn't like him to yell at someone. Normally, Nick would just ignore the snide comments from Jimmy and get on with his day, but he really had had enough.

"I've really had enough of all these stupid remarks, okay? I don't want to hear anything about it anymore!" he said and stood up from his seat, the rest of his breakfast forgotten. Nick stalked out of the dining room and up the stairs to get his bag. Then he left the dorm for his fist class. Maybe he would be way too early, but he couldn't bear sitting next to this annoying boy called James any longer.

The boy was annoyed to no end. It had always been like that, Jimmy making fun of the tight friendship Jeff and Nick had had since the day they had met at freshman orientation. There was no reason to assume that there was anything more going on and Jimmy knew that.

In that moment Nick felt his cell phone vibrate in the pocket of his blazer and he pulled it out to see who was texting him at such an early hour. A smile spread across the boy's face when he read the name on the screen. It was a text from Rachel.

Quickly he opened the message and his smile widened when he saw the content of the text, a picture of Rachel wearing his sweater with the caption 'Warbler Pride'. How she managed to lift up his spirits Nick didn't know, but she did and he was grateful for that. Nick didn't like being in a sour mood all day. He typed out a reply and sent it over to her, hoping it would make her laugh. If she made him happy, he would try to do so, too.

Nick waited for about half an hour in his Calculus class room until he was joined by his best friend. Jeff plopped down on the bench next to him, getting out his things and turning to look at the brunette boy.

"You didn't have to defend me, Nick. I'm used to the comments of Jimmy. They are annoying, yes, but I don't care about them" he said and Nick sighed. He really didn't want to talk about it anymore.

"I know you don't care about them, but I'm sick of him making fun of our friendship all the time. He is our friend, he's supposed to be nice, not mean" he explained and Jeff nodded.

"You're right. And I think Jimmy noticed that he was wrong. After you left he looked like a fish out of water. He has never seen you like that. None of us have, by the way. You were like a volcano exploding all of a sudden. It was almost terrifying!" Jeff joked and made Nick smile. That was something only Jeff could do, getting Nick to smile in a matter of seconds. In that moment the bell rang and the teacher stepped into class, starting his lecture.

The school day flew by like nothing else and before he knew it, Nick walked down the hallway towards their choir room. Today was Warbler practice, the one thing he always looked forward to on a Friday.

It had been a good day, so far. The lessons were easy and Jimmy didn't try to bother him. The taller boy was probably still shocked from Nick's outburst at breakfast. But there was only so much a person could take. So much had been going on in the last few days, Nick's mind didn't work properly anymore. He just snapped.

Inside the Warbler hall, noise was coming from every direction. The boys who were already there danced and sang in little groups around the room, having fun. Nick spotted his best friend next to the rest of the boys from his dorm, showing his friends a new dance move. To be honest, it looked ridiculous, but Nick didn't care. Jeff was the best dancer they had in their group and he knew what he was doing, there was no need for him to tell him how to do better.

Nick walked over to them and joined into the hummed harmonies. They continued to have this session for a bit longer, until all their voices faded out and they gave a loud cheer, their so called 'warbler cry'.

"Guys, this was awesome!" Jude exclaimed and high fived Jimmy, who was standing next to him.

"True words, little man! We should think about doing this as warm ups more often" Wes nodded and made to go to his seat at the council table, but Nick stopped him.

"Wait a minute, please. I actually just wanted to tell you guys that we officially have a groupie now" he said and smiled into the blank faces of his friends.

"What do you mean by that, Nicky? Do we have a fan club we don't know about?" David asked, his brows creasing as he tried to work out what his dark haired friend was trying to say. Nick only smiled and took out his cell phone from his blazer's pocket. He pressed some buttons and the text from Rachel popped up. Nick turned his phone around and let the other boys see the picture.

"No way, that is totally awesome! Is that your sweater?" Jeff exclaimed and clapped his hands together like the overly excited kid that he was. The other boys nodded in agreement and leaned closer to see the picture better.

In that moment Luke snatched the phone out of Nick's hand and turned away from the shorter boy with a laugh.

"Let me see this more closely… Why, Nicky, if I didn't know any better, I would say your girlfriend was really pretty. But I know better, she is actually gorgeous, this picture does not capture how much her eyes sparkle when she is excited" he said and the other boys chuckled. Nick only sighed, slightly annoyed that this was the subject of their conversation again.

"Guys, you know Rachel is not my girlfriend. We are just friends. And now give me back my phone please. Wes, David, Thad, shouldn't you start the practice already?" Nick tried to get around the taller boy to get his cell phone back, but to no avail. The device was passed from one boy to the other and all of them copied the number on the screen into their own telephones. Great, now Rachel would be bombarded with texts by crazy lunatics that Nick called friends. Everywhere he looked there was at least one friend of his typing on their phone. This would be one big mess.

Before anything worse happened, Nick started typing out an apology message to his new friend, explaining why all the Warblers she had met the day before now also had her phone number and that they really meant no harm. Then he sat down on one of the couches next to Blaine and awaited the knocking sound of Wes' gavel that indicated the start of their choir practice.

After the crazy start into the practice, the Warbler rehearsal continued on without a hitch and soon enough the boys were released into their semi-free weekend. Jeff, Nick and the rest of the boys from their floor trundled over to their dormitory and parted ways in the entrance. The dark haired boy walked up the stairs, followed by his blond friend and flopped down on his bed. The whole day had been tiring, like every Friday. Not that he had any problems in school, but double calculus and double chemistry following up on each other was not really to be desired as a start into the day.

"Believe me, there are so many things I would do to get out of having to go to the formal tomorrow. I would even clean all the toilets in school. I'm really not looking forward to having to go there. Nicky, make it not be there!" Jeff moaned and Nick chuckled. Sometimes, the blond boy was like a little child, depending on others to have things sorted out for him.

"As much as I would love that idea, it's not going to happen. Look at it that way: We have the whole day tomorrow and Sunday. The formal is only going to take up a few hours in the evening. Also, you are not alone, we all have to endure the nagging of the Crawford girls" Nick tried to calm his friend, but there was only so much you could say when you didn't like an event either. "Come on now, try to forget about the formal for a while and focus on something else. Let's play some Xbox or something, yeah?!"

Jeff didn't have to be asked twice. At once he was on the floor in front of their TV set and started up the game they were currently playing. Nick got up as well and sat in one of the beanbags and grabbed the controller that was lying on the coffee table.

The two boys were deep into their game when there was a knock on the bedroom door. Jeff paused the game and stood up to greet whoever was interrupting them in their precious downtime.

"We are in the middle of a match here! What's- " he started but then stopped and stood away from the door to let the visitor in. Nick looked over from where he had reclined on his seat and saw a mass of curly dark hair, pulled up in a loose pony tail.

"What's up, Rookie?" he said and stood up to meet his sister Maggie halfway across the room. Rookie was his nickname for her. Maggie rolled her eyes at him. Sure, she loved her brother, but this nickname was annoying. She didn't even like 'Rookie Blue' that much!

"Stop calling me that or I start with Baby John again!" she said, still smiling and hugged her older brother tightly, then plopped down on the beanbag Nick was previously occupying.

"Don't you dare! You promised me not to call me that. I'm not that scrawny and small, I have you know!" Nick fired back and now sat down on his bed. "But really, what are you doing here? Not that I don't like you visiting, but we would have seen each other tomorrow anyways, so I thought the weekly 'sibling TV marathon' would be canceled today" he said. The siblings were visiting each other every Friday of the week to spend some time together and most of these 'dates' ended up in being spent watching Criminal Minds, Crossing Jordan and Navy CIS. Nick's sister loved her crime shows!

"There's always room for me on Fridays! But I actually need your help" Maggie admitted and looked down at her feet, not really wanting to see the look on her brother's face. Nick sighed.

"Not again, Maggie. Really? You were so good when we revised together!" the boy said and Maggie shrugged her shoulders.

"I know and I can't explain how it happened again. But whenever I have the work sheet in front of me, all the things you showed me are just gone with the wind and I have no idea how to solve the equations and problems given to me. I have you know, Math was invented by the devil!" the girl admitted and let her head fall back on the chair. 'Mrs. Morgan allowed me to redo the test on Monday, so I can have another chance at getting a better grade. Nicky, you need to help me or I will fail this class!" She was right. Maggie was normally very good at school, having above average grades in all subjects. All, except for Mathematics.

"Come on then, get Jeff's chair and I will explain it to you again. Really, it's not that hard!" the older brother said and walked over to his desk. Maggie rolled Jeff's chair up next to her brother and sat down next to him.

"Thank you Nick. You are the best big brother a girl could have!" she said and leaned her head on the boy's shoulder.

"Yeah, I know, I get that all the time!" Nick said and opened the book on the table, starting to go over the problems step for step, explaining how to work everything out.

The siblings spent about half an hour pouring over Maggie's textbooks, Nick explaining her every little detail on how to work out the difficult equations. There's was no doubt, Dalton and the sister school had high demands when it came to academics. With the help of her brother, the younger girl soon got the knack of it and was doing better and better with the questions by the minute.

They were just about to start on a new topic, when Nick could hear his phone start to ring in the pocket of his blazer that was thrown over Jeff's desk.

"Jeffers, can you either hand me my phone or answer it, please?" the dark haired boy asked while sharpening one of the many pencils on the desk, not looking up from reading the next problem in the book. They could hear Jeff getting up and opening the cell phone.

"IT'S YOU!" the blonde practically shouted into the device and Nick had to cringe at the thought that whoever was at the other end would have received a hearing impairment for sure.

"Yes, he's here with me, he was just too busy to answer the phone himself. You know, he has a girl visiting!" Jeff continued to talk and Nick now turned around, motioning for his friend to hand over the mobile.

"Oh, he's demanding for me to stop talking! I'll hand you over to him, okay?! I hope you will visit us soon, okay? Please say yes!" Jeff babbled on and Nick rolled his eyes. His friend was such a chatty person! Jeff said his good-byes again and handed the device to the waiting teen. Maggie meanwhile sat next to her brother, watching the spectacle that was unfolding before her eyes. Watching Nick and his best friend was always hilarious.

"Hello?" Nick answered his phone without glancing at the caller's id.

"Hey, it's me, Rachel" came the answer and Nick instantly felt his cheeks flush and his heart start pounding slightly faster than before. 'It's just the novelty of the friendship' the boy reminded himself. This behavior had nothing to do with him falling in love. Because he wasn't falling in love, was he?! NO, he wasn't!

"Hey, Rachel! Nice to hear you! I'm sorry for any damage Jeff caused to your ear by screaming so loudly. You know how he gets excited easily" the boy explained with a slight chuckle, looking over to his best friend sitting on his bed, grinning like a little boy being caught nicking a cookie.

"That's fine, I held the receiver as far away as possible. Thanks for the onslaught of texts today, though. They really brightened up my day" Rachel said, a slight smile in her voice.

"Why did it brighten up your day, did something happen?" Nick asked, curiosity and also a slight concern evident in his voice. He didn't like it when his friends had bad days, he needed peace around him as much as possible.

"Oh, well, you know, some people didn't appreciate my choice of clothing for today. He said I was, and I quote, 'fraternizing with the enemy'. I got a little upset about that, but I showed him that he wasn't reasonable. Someone actually stood up for me, too. That was nice" Rachel rambled a little and Nick could notice that she still was a little upset about what had happened, even though she said she was over it.

"Well, I for one, and all the other dudes, too, thought your outfit was amazing and we are proud to have you as a walking banner for our school! And don't worry about what Finn says. From what I have heard about him, he's not the brightest bulb in the shop, so I don't think he really knows what he talked about. Really, you would look good in anything!" God, did he just SAY that?!

"Aww, Nicky, that's really sweet of you! Thank you. But why I'm actually calling is to ask if you, as in all of you, have anything planned for tomorrow? I had thought about maybe visiting after my vocal training. You know, to have you show me how to play xbox. Or something like that" she said and Nick felt his good mood falling. She wanted to visit them, and him, then, but he didn't have time.

"That actually sounds lovely, but I have to say we can't tomorrow. You know, we have a formal every other month for the boarding students with our sister school and it's tomorrow. Believe me, if I could choose between you visiting and having to go to the dance, I would always, and I mean always, pick you. You can't believe how boring tomorrow's going to be" he said and looked over to his friend, who had jumped up in a half happy dance at the sound of Rachel wanting to come over. He really was fond of the girl.

"Oh, well, that's a shame. Maybe another time, then? And what's that I heard about a girl visiting you?" Rachel said quickly, trying to sound cheery, but Nick could hear the slight disappointment in her voice.

"Girl? Oh, that's just my sister, Maggie. She comes over every Friday. Today we spent the time trying to get her to understand how calculus is working" Nick said with a grin, turning to his sister next to him, who was intently watching and listening to the play unfolding before her eyes.

"OH! Jeff just said there was a girl and I assumed… Never mind, we'll find some other time to meet up again, okay? I hope you will survive tomorrow then. Have fun, okay?!" she said and with a good bye the call ended.

Nick kept looking at the phone for another moment before turning back to the text book before him. After a moment he could feel someone staring at him. Nick looked back up to see Maggie looking at him with a curious look on her face.

"What?" he asked, not knowing what the younger girl wanted from him.

"Oh, come on, Nicky! You just talked for about 15 minutes on the phone. With a girl. Who was that, huh?" she exclaimed, jumping up and down on her chair like a little child waiting for Santa.

"That was Rachel" Nick answered, knowing that this little statement would make Maggie slightly crazy. He loved riling his sister up!

"Yes, I heard that! But who's she?" Maggie kept asking, her curly hair bouncing up and down with every movement. Before Nick could answer again, Jeff piped up from where he sat.

"Rachel's Nicky's girlfriend" he said calmly, smiling like a chesire cat. You could hear Maggie gasping and making to exclaim something or other, but Nick beat her to it.

"She's not my girlfriend. We are just friends. Normal friends. Nothing more" Nick said, trying to stop the butterflies to run rampant in his stomach at the thought of the short girl.

"Yeah, right, just friends. But Nicky has a huge crush on her, Mags; he mumbled her name while sleeping last night. He's all over the place because of her. He's so in luuurve!" Jeff said mockingly, forming a heart with his hands. Maggie only smiled. She knew that the two friends liked to tease each other and that there was no harm done. She also knew that Nick would not give any details until he was ready to, so she didn't push him. Yes, she was a fifteen year old girl on an all girls school, but she loved her brother way too much to push him to say something he doesn't want to.

"Okay, well, I'm sure I'm going to meet her someday, right? And now let's get on with this stupid math problem. I need to ace the test or I'm going to fail. And I hate failing!"

_**Just like last time, if there are any mistakes I didn't see, feel free to tell me and I will correct them!**_


End file.
